New Background

OK just a quickie. Since there was dissension in the ranks about my background, and you know who you are, I changed it again. Obviously. And if you look to the left side of the layout you will see why this is the perfect background for us. You can just barely see the word Jerusalem on the map. So enjoy the new background and TTFN!

My Friends, My Friends Are Good For Me.....!

This is the beginning of an old Girl Scout Camp song that probably my sister is the only who would recognize, unless anyone went to Camp Arrowhead. It so incredibly true and I realized it is the one thing I left off of my Thanksgiving list. I really cannot imagine how I would get along in life with out them. For those of us who have good families, we are truly lucky, but nonetheless, even good family becomes annoying family some days and that is why we have friends! True friends will tell you how great you are and how stupid you are and they still love you just because. No obligations, they just do. Most of my friends live across the pond, but it is nice to pick up the phone or the e-mail and still be able to talk, complain and or just explode and they know what I mean. One of my biggest regrets about being here is that I know my kids are missing out by not being able to hang with theirs.

Friends are what get through grade school embarrassment, high school trauma and nearly failed classes, ex-boyfriends and they even save us from psychopathic roommates. I am and will forever be the Sofa Queen thanks to the last one. The great thing about friends is that you can accumulate them and never have enough. I have some really dear friends that have helped me survive my formative years in Israel and I love that I have friends who I am close enough too that their kids consider us family. So to all my friends, both new and really old, THANK YOU! I would never have survived with out you.

In Honor Of Thanksgiving

Today in America it is Thanksgiving Day. The first couple of years we kept the tradition up with friends but it got to be too complicated here with kids and so on. In fact we actually gave up doing much for Thanksgiving when I got pregnant with S while we were in America still. Not because of religious reasons particularly, but logistical reasons. Thanksgiving is always on Thursday, followed by Shabbat. That means cooking two major meals in a row. Being 9 mo. pregnant does not inspire one to want to either A) cook two large meals or B) go anywhere that might require too much effort. Incidentally we met my in-laws and crew for drinks at a near by restaurant and then went home to watch movies on the DVD. Now that's Thanksgiving! My parents came for brunch the next AM.

So now here it is 7 years later and in honor of Thanksgiving I am counting my blessings and listening/ watching Operation Petticoat while I blog and then start work. And for those of you who GASP! don't know....Operation Petticoat is a 1959 movie with the suave Cary Grant and the handsome Tony Curtis. My kids have a vague idea of what Thanksgiving is, which in their case includes cards and goodies from America and the notion that is an American holiday. But they certainly are "grateful for the goodies.

As for the grown ups, I don't speak for my husband, but I have fond memories of Thanksgiving. We used to go skiing a lot. No crowds and lines, my mom had peace and quiet, she doesn't share the kitchen well.. and my sister, dad and I had an amazing dinner when we got home. I have a lot of other good memories too, but those are some of my favorites. Now I am a grown up and I understand even more that there is plenty to be grateful for. So here is my list of things to be grateful for on Thanksgiving.

First, that we have all that we need. While our budget is tight, we do have all the basic necessities and as hokey as it sounds, we are grateful that we have lights, running water, food to eat and work to do. We read about the tsunamis, earthquakes and the dire situations here and all over the world and know that we are blessed by just having the basics in life. I include my job with this as the unemployment rate world wide is a scary thing right now. But not only do I work, but it is the most ideal situation ever.

Second, I am grateful for my kids. They are a challenge, a blessing, my joy and my undoing as I told my aunt recently. Today M started her new school FINALLY! And although she was very nervous about a change and she did not really want to go, she was such a trooper. She jumped right in, participated in class and her teacher said she did great. Whew, what a relief. It is nice to know that even though they balk at home and can be stubborn and difficult and so on, when they are away from home they know how to behave. Grocery store moments not included........... My boys too get compliments frequently from school and friends' parents and so on. Nice to know we are doing something right.

Third, I have amazing in-laws. Most people dread visits from their in-laws and most women I know hold their breath in particular with their MILs'. I happen to adore my mother in law! She is just so thoughtful and caring and I really just enjoy talking to her. She calls nearly every night to talk to the kids and about once a week or so we catch up to find out what's what on the other side of the pond. My husband actually gives me a bad time (he's joking of course) about how much time I spend talking or on-line chatting with his mom.

Fourth, of course I am grateful for my own husband. We have very different ideas frequently and we have very heated debates, but I am grateful to have him in my life. With out him I would not have 3 wonderful children and I would not be where I am or what I am doing today.

Finally, I am grateful for my own family. I think my mom single handedly keeps her local post office in business with the amount of stuff she sends. Plus she is my mom and she has always been wonderful, so what more can I say? My sister and I are very lucky to have grown up in our family with our parents. We have a lot of good memories as a family,and despite my being over here away from the crew, we do keep up. In addition to fabulous parents and a lovely sister who has always been a challenge and a.... challenge, I have two wonderful Aunties and an Uncle. Between the three of them I have gotten to do some really cool things. Including living in Hawaii for 6 months. I also have an extensive knowledge of the California wine industry as well..also very handy and Yum!

So there you go, in a very long detailed blog, this is what Thanksgiving is to me. We may not be eating turkey or watching football, but I do have Cary Grant and I will be rooting for the Ducks tomorrow and I am truly thankful for all that G-d has given me and my family. So to all of you where ever you are, have a Happy Thanksgiving no matter where you are or what you are doing. And bundle up, because if you are not here, it is probably cold out there!

Just a Quickie!

I mostly blog inside my head and I have lots to say, but little time. Or maybe I don't make the time... it is all point of view. But I will get to that some other time, here is a quick glimpse into the workings of my kids. All three of the kids have inherited my love of stuffed animals and they are bound and determined to have a stuffed animal of every creature that ever lived and two if it can be arranged, because Noah and the flood is one of their all time favorite stories. Fortunately even though I have been required to thin my own herd, I have lots of material for this goal. Over the years we have acquired elephants, including 2 that are heffalumps, if you don't know what they are, you are not a Pooh Bear fan like our family. Anyhow so this morning S commented that we had 4 elephants and we needed one more, after momentary stupidity on my part I of course realized this was due to 5 people in our own family. So I commented that I had a blue one somewhere in America (very common statement in our house, because I still have stuff stored there) and S looks at me and goes, " A real one?!" Of course he realizes there are no blue elephants and after a short discussion including, "Does our zoo have blue elephants?" he realized this was not possible, but I think hope springs eternal! Because a few minutes later there was a little voice next me saying, "What about a light blue one?"

Part of that springs I believe for the desperate need to have a pet or a new baby in the house. Yes, you read correctly. Pets, babies, what's the difference?......... I have to say at this point in my life I actually agree with them. Which is why we currently have neither! In way of short explanation we live in Israel, one of the highest birth rates in the world, we live a religious neighborhood, almost everyone has at least 5 kids and a new baby.... The pet desire comes from their love of animals. We have discussed horses, dinosaurs and a myriad of other animals as pets. Fortunately dinosaurs are extinct and after a visit to the horse stables this summer the kids realized a horse was never going to fit on our mirpeset (deck) no matter how hard we tried. Whew!

Its a Small World and More!

First off, so much for the weekly blog. Life is hectic and seems determined to remain so despite my crystal ball telling me otherwise. Last month I thought I saw light at the end of the tunnel, turns out it was train coming down the track to try and run me over. But we are persevering with a little fortitude and a lot of help for a week and a half when Grammy and Grandpa came. Grammy and Grandpa belong to my husband, but I probably look forward to their visits more than he does. For nearly two weeks I get help taking kids to and from school, getting them ready, get lunches together, laundry done and so on and the kids get one on one time with the grands. It is like the extra set of hands I was supposed to get when I had twins. Plus the kids think they can get away with anything and the grands think the kids can do no wrong, so it is a winning combination.

In other news I have since turned another year older, ugghhhh, I want to be forever 25. I have an indisputable theory that 25 is the perfect age. At 25 you are an adult in every way. Bars are legal, cars can be rented with out additional insurance and nothing is off limits. Plus you get the benefit of being young enough to not have real responsibility and if you are not settled it is OK because you are still young! I have explained this theory to many and some even agree with my logic, the others, well what can I do? Guess they like being over 25.

Work continues to go well. While I am seriously grateful, I continue to be amazed by it. Getting hours out can be like pulling teeth. Between, writers block, kid appts and kids in general and a husband who seem to think they actually need to be taken care of, go figure, it is all quite challenging. However, for some strange reason the people I work with continue to like me and my writing. I am learning to let go of the nit picky points a little which is helping a lot.

The kids are doing great in school, and turns out our big one is the bell of the ball at school. We have had teachers meetings with 2 out of 3 kids and so far so good. Our big one is in a "special education" program. Meaning he just can't keep up with the rest of the kids because he has English speaking parents who are terrible at helping with homework. So he is in a program with a total of 12 boys and he has 5 different teachers. One for each subject. I like that he gets the one on one, which he responds well too, but we are trying to work the math at home as that would be the one subject that he is just really way more advanced on. But I am not pushing that issue at school. When he is ready they will integrate that part of his day into the regular class. All his teachers say the same thing, "Our kid is great, he is such a calm boy and so good!" Of course I am thrilled, which leads to the next question, "Why doesn't he do that at home?" Of course mostly he is a good kid, but we have our moments. Most of the teachers are Israeli but we have one that can speak fairly decent English and one teacher that is English, meaning British. I am surprised that S has not picked up his British accent again. He had one for a long time that would sneak out after living in Jerusalem where almost all our friends were British. And yeah for me, because now I can get by with more crappy Hebrew! Our middle angel gets help once a week from an outside tutor in reading and Hebrew, while the reading seems to be going really well, the Hebrew is questionable. My next step is to speak with the tutor and get a full report. M we are in the middle of switching schools. We are working to get her into a "special ed." program as well. She understands Hebrew great but won't talk. So we want to get her talking in school and we think have a class size that is under 33 girls will help a lot. Plus she has some speech patterns in both languages that need correcting. Same thing goes here, as she improves, we can move her back into a regular class, either this year or next. The truth is, every child should go through school with small class sizes. It is a shame that only the "problem" children have such a great opportunity. But moving on....

Our heat wave has finally broken after three very long months. We are down to the 70's during the day and we are all wondering if we need sweaters or not! I went to a lecture tonight on kids and education, and actually took a sweater with me and it actually got chilly! It is at least 68. Brrrrr........... :) Yeah, I know you NW people want to kick my.... for saying 68 is chilly, but hey, there's where you are; and there is here! However, we did get rain on Shabbat and the truth is, if we don't get more, I worry we are going to be completely out of water. 7 months of no rain is a little disturbing and comes too close to a story I read in 6th grade.....

And finally speaking of this lecture I went to...I now embark upon the topic of its a small world. I met someone from Seattle. Now to meet ONE person who actually knows WHERE Oregon is, is pretty amazing. Finding someone from the West Coast is astounding, but someone who is from the PNW is down right earth shattering! But this is where it gets really bizarre. We had a family move in earlier this year, also from Seattle, we knew about this. We did not know them personally, but knew the name and we have mutual friends. Turns out our Seattle friends also knew someone else from Seattle who lives here, not so far from us. AND the kicker is... this new person I met tonight knows all the people we know from Seattle. OK the Seattle and PDX Jewsih Communities combined are not that big, but to have 4 PNW families living in Beitar Illit, Israel all random and unplanned...just reminds me of how small our world really is. Plus there is a rumor that another family lives here that spent a couple of years in Portland and just moved back here. I am reminded that nothing is random and hey, it is just nice to have people from home. And not have every last person be from NEW YORK! Not that have a problem with that, but they don't all know where Oregon is........ Oh and for those of you who want to know all the Seattle names, I bet some of them you could guess, because you might be related and you would probably be able to guess the other names, but if you can't guess them all, you will just have to e-mail! :)

As it is after midnight here, that wraps up my weekly, daily and maybe yearly update depending on how things go. And besides now you can read this in 2 parts, since it is so long! TTFN!

Hmmm.... A Whole Year Gone!

It is hard to believe another year has come and gone, both on the calendar and on my blog. To say the least it has been a whirl wind year with a lot going on. One of the reason for my lack of blog maintenance. The other reason would be that I now write for a living. Nothing glamorous, but still it is a living and I do enjoy it. I write for a hardware site enticing our buyers with everything from new cabinet knobs to new patio furniture and everything in between. I have redone my cabinets about a million times in my head now and have picked out new living room furniture and have found some fairly fabulous lights too. I am also learning all about the brass tacks of do it yourself hardware, such as hinges. Although it can get repetitive, I love my co-workers, my boss and my hours. I work from home, on my time, or sometimes not at home, when I am on the go. So my set up is really ideal. What I have discovered is, it makes we want to branch out in my writing. Which leads me back to my blog. Where I can write, but it doesn't have to be about cabinet knobs and kitchen organizers. So my goal is to get my blog going again and I hope that even the people who now use face book will take the time to read it.

In other news, our kids are doing well in school this year and after a very intense year long effort, two out of three are where they need to be. We are working on the third one. But we are seeing improvements in Hebrew, both in speech and reading, so that is good. We are also enjoying seeing the kids interests blossom. We are currently learning about dinosaurs, volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. There is also a serious interest in every animal and bug out there, where it lives and what does it eat. I just ran across a book from Ntl. Geographic that is the Encyclopedia of Animals. It has 1,000 animals listed! It is my dream book! They also have great one on Dinosaurs that will be going on the wish list too. Oh we are also into geography. I have a world map up, courtesy Ntl Geographic at kid level and we are constantly pointing out different countries and states on the map. My kids are by no means geniuses, but they are really inquisitive and we are really learning a lot about our world.

As for us, the parents, we are trying to keep up with the kids, work, housework, and everything in between. It is challenging, exhausting and mind boggling all at once. Much of this could be said about any parents. I often exchange kid anecdotes with my friends and sister, all in America and find that things are pretty universal. Our biggest challenge is the language barrier here. Which can put the mind boggling aspect of parenting in the forefront! But with a LOT of help, we get through most days intact!

Much to the dismay of our friends and family, we love being here in Israel despite all the challenges. We have better health care here than we would in America, I love my job and the flexibility I have with it, we love being able to take our kids to the places they are learning about at school and just being here in general. There are also a lot of conveniences when it comes to keeping kosher and being religiously observant as well. Life is not simple or easy here, but I think that is true of anywhere. I don't find living in America to be some great panacea, particularly since our home state has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 12%! Although I do confess to missing my friends and family plus a few really nice conveniences. I think it is all about trade offs and we have given up some major things, but we have also gained some.

Despite what people may think, Israel is not some third world country. Living in the "West Bank" does not mean we live in a shanty, with no heat, electric or running water. We live in a 4 bedroom apartment four floors up basically right next to the full, well stocked, grocery store, very popular not just with us, but for the entire city and surrounding cities as well. Our HMO has a very good office next door with an array of Dr.'s, pediatric care, x-rays, dental and so on, plus other conveniences as well. M goes to school across the street, S is on the school bus and D takes Y to school on most days. We have finally gotten friendly with more of the families here in our area and although we have our bad days, we like to think we are getting along.

For those of you curious about the political situation, please DON'T encourage the !@#$!!!! building freeze! Our rent went up by $200 thanks to the brilliant minds in politics and lest you think you are doing some poor Arab a favor you are not. A majority of the construction workers are Arab. What do you think they did for 10 months? Also the same PA government that is trying to push for a building freeze is also trying to push for PA Arabs to not be allowed to work in Jewish areas. Meaning these people will punished. But there are no jobs to give them if they DO quit! Which just gives the PA more leverage to ask for international aid, meanwhile they have done NOTHING with the current money they have been given. Oh except bomb southern Israel. If you watch Jon Stewart, whom I mostly enjoy, you should be disgusted with his whole shtick on the fact that he is disappointed that Israel would not extend the building freeze. Easy for him to say, he is not being affected by the whole thing! No ever takes the time to speak to the actual people involved. We have plenty of Arab workers here in our community and everyone gets along just fine. In fact I will be forever grateful to the very nice Arab man who replaced my dozen broken eggs with a new carton, even though he was not obligated to even help me. I was not in the store, I had paid and was out in the driveway of the parking lot with all three kids of course, when they were a bit younger, and the eggs fell off the stroller and of course about half of them broke. This guy came out, helped me get things resettled, cross the street and then got me new eggs. He totally deserves a medal. We all know that people deserve to be judged on individual merit, so the story is and should be one person doing another person a favor. However, in media land it is all black and white. I wish they would focus on the everyday people who regardless of which side of the line they are on, just want to get on with their lives. The media never interviews the Israeli Arabs who WANT to be under Israeli rule, because it is much better than the PA. They never interview the Jews who live in the "West Bank" and ask why they are there. Most people move out there for the cheaper cost of living. It is the only way a person can afford a real house with a yard. Most cities don't have the space for that. Just like in America. Imagine that?! So the next time you read the tripe that Fox News or CNN are reporting, consider this; would you want some guy in China telling you where you can and cannot live in your own country? OK enough politics.

And probably enough about everything. I have been interrupted plenty since I started this and finally all the kids are in bed, so I guess it is my turn. Since the little cuties are up around 5:54am, I try to go to bed early too. I am off to watch The Big Bang Theory! Does anyone else watch this? We just got hooked onto it and it is by far my favorite show!

Signing off from sunny Israel! Please G-D Let it RAIN!

I am not alone!

Well obviously! I have 3 kids and a husband, it seems even when everyone is supposed to be gone someone is home sick or has an appointment that keeps them home, etc........... But what I really mean is that I found a bunch blogs and websites that are for people with twins and more! Some of the things that have been blogged are just hilarious and are things that we have dealt with too. But really it is like no matter how much I read Parents magazine or something similar it still not the same as reading about people going through the same trenches as us.

I really wanted to sit down and do a more reflective blog, but I had to boast about my find. The big blog will have to come a little later.

Happy Turkey Day to all of you in America!

Shana Tova

Wanted to wish you all a happy 5770 on the Hebrew calendar and to those of you who don't celebrate the Jewish New Year, Happy January 1st early!

We are still with out regular internet but we are working on the situation and hope to change that status soon.

In the meantime here is a quick update from the J 5!

We are finally updating our kids and getting them all necessary shots and etc. We are happy to say that everyone is healthy and growing fine. S is now a whopping 119cm or in layman's terms, he comes to just under my chest or he is 3ft. 11 inches! I am beginning to think I will be staring him in the eye soon! Y is about 32 lbs and is our shortest member. he is about in the 20% bottom of normal.M is 30lbs. and all leg and takes after her eema and we plan to marry her off at 18 or lock her in a closet until we find an appropriate suitor! After all we remember what teen age boys are like! :) But if you think we are tough, I think her brothers will be even worse. They spoil her rotten and do everything for her! And she is their Princess with out a doubt and that is exactly how she sees her self and will tell you that!

Everyone is settled in school now and all seem to be enjoying their respective teachers and classmates. For this we are very grateful. I am thrilled to have some free time when I am not running a ton of errands, cleaning house or hauling everyone off for shots at the doctor's office. But I have had the opportunity to run into Jerusalem a few times now and have definitely enjoyed myself. I have also had the opportunity to do some house cleaning and that is good news. We have been passing on some of our old toys and books as well which helps minimize our clutter mess. Now we just have to work on the grown ups......

We had a wonderful Rosh Hashana here in Beitar and a very meaningful Yom Kippur and are looking forward to Sukkos which we will spending in Jerusalem. Those of you who know a thing or two about Sukkahs know that this is an insane idea, but well we are full of them! So we will be packing up kids and Sukkah and all for a week in Jerusalem. Yeah! Can't wait to have a week to catch up with everyone.

On Nov. 1 Grammy and Grandpa J will arrive and we are sooo looking forward to their visit! Lots of fun things planned!

Ok my tech support is waiting to take this into Jerusalem to send it off so I hope everyone is well and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

The Difference Between Oregon and Israel

OK there are a lot of differences between Oregon and Israel. But today I couldn't help laughing when I read the weather report. It says, "Partly cloudy and cooler temperatures." In Oregon this would mean slight to possible chance of showers and it would mean that I would be bringing sunscreen, sweatshirts and gortex, just in case........While here it means that we will have blue skies, white wispy clouds, that will thankfully produce a breeze and that I won't melt the minute I step outside. While it is true that there are clouds and the temps will be cooler, I can't help but think they are cheating with the weather report. I feel if they are going to report partial clouds, there should be real clouds that make you cold when the sun is blocked out and it should be sweatshirt weather. Must be the Oregonian in me!

It's Not all its Cracked up to be

For anyone who knows me, it is no secret that except for the first year of my life I have been under weight as a rule of thumb. This has lead to comments like, "I can't wait for you to get fat!" or "You are so lucky you are thin!" While being thin has its upside, like being able to wear the same jeans from 10 years ago even though I have 3 kids and looked like a whale while I was pregnant with the twins. It also allows me to keep an active lifestyle which includes chasing after my 3 kids and walking 2,4 miles a day to collect my oldest from school while pushing 60lbs. up the hill at the same time.

HOWEVER, being thin doesn't mean all of the problems in my life are easily solved. Nor does it mean I DON'T have to watch what I eat! I once told a friend that I would gladly trade her organization skills for my size in clothing. Organizational skills are really much more useful. And despite popular misconception I DO have to watch what I eat. I recently had some blood tests done as part of a check up and had my cholesterol and iron checked as part of this. What I discovered is that, my cholesterol is barely normal, despite the fact that I walk 2.4 miles a day and only eat chicken on the weekend and between 5 people we go through one gallon of milk a week and red meat is only eaten on rare occasion. In other words we eat very little high cholesterol food, but my levels are still average to slightly above. if I were to change even one thing in my diet or quit walking my cholesterol would go through the roof like everyone else in my family.

The other surprise in my tests was that my iron level is basically some where in my toes. My iron level is an 8, basically this is about as low as a person can go as the low end of average is about 60. I have since done some research on the internet and found out that Anaemia, the deficiency of iron, can really have a lot of affects on a person. I always knew that it could make a person tired, but I never really thought about. I always figured I was tired because I had 3 kids close in age. Instead of seeing a doctor or changing my diet, I started drinking strong english tea. Up until this past Sunday I was drinking 3 a day, still tired, horribly unmotivated and unable to get a thing done except on good days. I also discovered it can kill the appetite, which makes sense too. Finally things got so bad my husband made me go to the doctor. I actually had some tests done months ago, but never got the results as my doctor limited her hours, it was in Jerusalem and a general pain in the rump to get there. So last week I went to a local doctor who noticed some missing tests and low and behold, I think I have now solved most of my life's problems. I am now researching high iron recipes and I take a daily multi-vitamin with iron, plus I calculate exactly how many grams of iron are in my food at each meal and I am changing my diet to increase my iron intake. Eating red meat here is really not an option as it is shipped in from Argentina and anything worth eating is way out of our budget. On occasion we do get hamburger that claims to be %100 beef otherwise, it has soy fillers and not so much red meat, which means I am not getting the iron from it. I have made lentil soup and a black and white bean soup this week. I am also eating sunflowers daily and eating 2 cups of oatmeal. I feel a lot better, but it is still going to be a long battle to get my iron level up to anywhere close to normal. And it will be a lifestyle change, but I will do it and stick with it, because it was I need to do to stay health and active. So to all you people who think thin means never having to watch what you eat, I beg to differ.

Three, 3, shalosh, san........

We did it! We are the proud survivors of another year with twins plus one very stubborn 5&1/2 year old. Yesterday the twins turned three on the Hebrew calendar. Their english date is on Friday. To celebrate Y got his first haircut, his kippa and his tzitzit. The tzitzit is a kind of under garment with strings on all for corners. It was a big day for us. We also took them into Jerusalem for a party in the park with lots of friends to share the big day.

We are so proud and excited about all our kids and they really are a joy and a blessing, but nothing worth having ever comes easy and the same can be said for our children. They are smart, independent thinkers who need copius amounts of attention to get the job done and they are always up for a snuggle unless they are in a mood...........

On Friday we will again celebrate their big day by getting them new trikes, a gift from us and both sets of grands, they also have goodies from the Aunties and Uncles and cousins, etc.

I frequently think of things I would like to blog, but as usual by the time the moment arrives my mind is empty as a school yard on vacation day. Which would be my brain for the last 3 years...

So in short, we had a visit from Grammy and Grandpa J from May3-12 which included a visit to the beloved zoo where M spent large amounts of time snuggling as many goats and sheep as she could in the petting zoo. When we asked if she would like her own she said, Yeah, and then went to go pick one out. We thought for sure she was going to try and take one home with her when we left.

The twins are officially potty trained! Hurray! We won the lottery! Ok maybe not in the minds of some, but for those of you with one or more kids in diapers you know what I am talking about. M still has to be watched and is more accident prone, but Y is doing great and we are really proud of them both. Now all we have to do is ditch the stroller and we are all set! Probably this fall, but the truth is because we dont have a car and do a lot of long walking is the only reason they are still in it or I would kick them out. They are about grown out of it anyway.

This fall they will start school and Y is all registered, one down one to go. They will be in 2 different schools as the schools are gender segregated and while the boys will be at the same school M will be on here own. It will be there first time they will separate from me and each other. While I am excited at the prospect of having my life back and getting my brain out of storage, I know I will worry about their adjustment to such big changes. But it has to come some time and they will be fine once they get the hang of it.

We are also tossing their crib! I don't know why they have been so attached to it. It is ugly as all get out and the only reason I agreed to take it was because I figured we would only have it a year............They love that stupid thing and the only way i got them out was that part of it is broken now, so I told them they could not sleep in it. Yeah! The boys now have one room and M has her own. Everyone is in a big bed and my babies are growing up in a hurry! And in the process of getting everyone into big beds we had a re-organization in the boys room after found M using the bed that sits under the window as a booster to try and get her self out said window. Thank G-d there is a big window ledge, we live about 3 stories up and the downstairs neighbors are still a good distance down. Suffice to say the room is re-done to discourage this behaviour again and we also took some direct action to M to discourage her from thinking about trying it with something else. We also made sure the boys understood what was going on too. I hate to think what could have happened had I not come the minute S told me what was going on............

Once again all is well that ends well.

Ok lost train of thought have to feed kids.

Quiz........How much time do you think I spend in the kitchen?

A couple of nights ago we were up really late and so instead of me getting S up, he was waking me. I was right in the middle of a dream. This is probably the most bizarre dream I have had since high school when I had dream that a guy was killed in our bathtub when I read Julius Ceasar by Shakespeare. So the dream goes like this. First I was having a dream about Dirty Dancing, only no Patrick Swayze, rats! Then all of a sudden it switches and I am back in my parents old living room where I grew up, I think and it is a fight of good and evil. So who are the good guys? I think they are jars. Either that they were pot mitts. Not entirely sure. But the bad guy was for a sure a flying pot mitt, red to be a exact with a mean face. He had black eyes and a black mouth and was chasing the super hero, who was about to drop. And I am pretty sure the super here was an old mayonaise jar............. plus there were 2 more jars that were also good guys. Then S woke me up. Perhaps it is time I thought about a new hobby.......

We call her the wanderer.............

To be fair ALL of my kids wander off and only one has a good sense of direction. That would be my oldest. It has a lot to do with his observation skills. He actually pays attention to where he is going. The other two just start going until they are lost. Well the other evening I had D take the kids out to the park so I could get dinner done and a few other things in peace and quiet. Around 8:30p I get a call from D.

"Is M there?"

Me: No,

D:Are they boys there?

Me: Yep

D:But the boys did not bring her back?

Me: No

D: She was right here 1o seconds ago!

Well we did find her, eventually, it took about a half hour though. While we weren' worried anything bad had happened, we were more concerned with where is exactly she was at. We live in a safe area. And in fact D found her with two very nice people and one of the teams of security that regularly cruise the city. Different then local police. They even gave M candy. Oh boy!

Here are the family reactions;

D: How did she get so far, so fast?

Me: Now you know how I feel! The kids are always taking off on me..........

S: How come she wandered off? (I asked him why he wandered off and typical aswer of course, "I don't know........"

Y: M went to school! Because S is always coming home from school with cady. So his logical conclusion is that if she has candy she was at school!

M: Well she was a little upset, but after some suggles and dinner she went right to sleep.

All's well that ends well. Thank G-d.

The Princess has Spoken...........

on Friday we were getting ready for Shabbos and I made the statement that M is a girl in relation to why we want her to bathe on her own now instead of in the tub with the boys. Her response, "I'm not a girl, I'm a princess!" Well that solves that question! I think the fact that boys play knights and call her their princess might be going to her head! Watch out world because the Princess has spoken!

Mama said there'd be days like this.............

But I don't think they had cell phones when that song was written. What started out be a productive day, ended on a sour note when our one and only cell phone was picked clean off of me this afternoon in Jerusalem. Now I know it is easy to say, I must have left it somewhere or dropped it. I did have the twins with me, but I figured out right away and even if I had, most people are honest and would respond the first 3 times we tried to call it and return it. I borrowed a phone and called within 15-20min. of the time I last USED it until the time I lost it. It will now cost us $100 to replace it as it was a rental phone+$19 to have it delivered to us. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR............ Why are people so mean some days! I feel like a heal as it is D's phone that I use on the rare occassion I am on the go. So all his numbers are gone and until it is replaced I can't reach him when he is on the go. D is taking it well since he is not the one who lost it, but I feel horrible and would be feel better if he were angry, then I could go on the defensive, but I would still feel like I deserve it.

The positive things that happened today however are, we got some paper work turned in that could mean more money for us, yeah! I got new frames which I have not had in about 8 years! And I ran into 2 people I have not seen in ages, although unfortunately after I lost the phone so I was not very sociable and they were catching busses. I guess I have to remember to look on the bright side of things. It could have been worse and been my whole purse. And we did avoid a major car accident today as M some how got out into a very busy street and was not injured. Thank G-d there was road construction so even though she was half way out she had not made it into traffic. So I will have to see the cell phone as an inconvenience and count my blessings that I still have my daughter and that we all made it home OK. And despite the financial loss our day was Ok and that our blessings out weigh our challenges.

The Gift of Giving

It is now Thursday and I am 2 weeks behind in my Tuesday's Tip, so I am going incorporate it into my blog about our recent activities.

On Monday night started the holiday Purim which I mentioned in my last blog. It is the story of Queen Esther. The Megillah goes like this. An evil king named Asheverous ruled Persia and lived in the capital city of Shushan. He has a party in his 3rd year of rule and gets drunk. When his wife refuses to come to him during the party his henchmen suggest she be hanged for disobeying the king. After the party, the king has no wife and is bummed, thats OK say his men, "you can get a new one!" Enter Queen Esther the Jew, the woman he picked to be his new wife. Her Uncle Mordechai hangs out at the palace gates, figures out a plot to kill the king and saves the day. But meanwhile the king's most trusted advisor has it in for Mordechai and decides to kill him and the rest of the Jewish people. But after 3 days of fasting and a plea from the queen, a miracle occurrs and the king overturns the evil decree, the Jews fight back and the evil advisor and his sons are hanged on the gallows as punishment. It is from then on decreed that Jews should eat and drink to celebrate, provide gifts to the poor so that they to
may celebrate and hear the story of the Megillah every year.

On Purim we are obligated to 3 things, 1)So we make food baskets, which I actually did do, although we skipped dessert, but added a pickle to go with the kugel and everyone got wine. 2) Gifts to the poor which is monetary, so that even those who have no money can run out and buy food for a meal or give baskets to others. And 3)Hear the Megillah.

We did have our friends for our meal in the end, she is still quite pregnant and we went into Jerusalem today. A good time was had by all both days.

So where does my tip come in? My tip is, it is the simple things in life that count. As part of our food baskets to two friends we got them new KoomKooms. These are the same idea as hot water pots, but more durable and bigger. This is one of those things that EVERYONE has. Some people may not have a microwave, but this is something we all have. Since I am a tea addict I would lay down and give it all up if mine died. They are not expensive, they can be found for as cheap as $8 and as pricey as $25. I have no idea what the difference is. But as we all know sometimes spending that little extra money on ourselves can be hard. So when I discovered that our local store had the koomkooms on sale for $8, I knew we had to include it. Both friends were so pleased that it really made me happy. But the second person we did it for I also got 2 glasses to go with as she did not have any. Just tiney tea cups. And the look on her face was priceless. The whole thing cost us so very little, but to her it was priceless. I admit, I would not spend the money on my self. I always feel like it should go to groceries or bills, or saving it, but to buy it for someone else and have them see it as if it were a $200.00 gift was just heart warming. And in that moment I really treasured the words it is better to give than to receive.

So my tip is this: If you know that someone needs a pick me up, but you feel you don't have much, look around because one small item made or bought may make all the difference to someone else. Ideas when you are broke, but you want to cheer up a friend, 1) See if there is an album or song they want, most places only charge $1 if you want to be PC about the whole thing. 2) Make or buy a treat like cookies or a cake. People love treats when they can't afford to buy them. 3)Invite them over for a meal, they may have less to eat at home than you do!
4) If it is a tired mom, offer to give her a break and take the kid(s) for an hour or two OR go with her to run errands and help with kid(s). I have discovered that helping my friends with new babies while D watches ours is actually fun for me. Because hey, new babies don't talk back and when they cry, well, hey she's not mine so that is OK! 5)Send someone a card even if they only live around the corner. people love getting snail mail! Or even an e-mail telling them why they are so great will do.
In these times of financial struggle for us all I have found that people hate asking for help and are embarrassed to do so, but they need to feel they are not a failure and that they are still worthwhile person. Doing simple things for someone else can really boost their self esteem. Remember what comes around goes around!

Slug Days......

Not really slugs, but that is how I feel about my blog currently. But the truth is I know a lot of my friends and family use it to keep up with our busy or not so busy life. So here is a bit of what's doing.

We finally got winter this weekend. We usually get a whole lot of rain for Nov., Dec.,Jan., Feb. and a little in March. This year I can count on one hand the number of days it has rained. So this weekend it really rained and it seems to have kept going, including hail. S is loving this he has just learned the Hebrew for hail and just learned about the 10 plagues in Egypt which includes hail. He is most excited now everytime we have hail which is a lot lately.

The kids have all grown again....Y looks the same size but is like picking up a lead brick, I am sure S will be as tall as me by the time he gets into 2nd grade. He starts 1st this year. He is pretty much up to my sternum....M is growing nicely and has the height and weight of her mommy right now. They are all sick again however, and i am not enjoying this......We just went through colds about 2 weeks ago and my guess is the hot cold hot cold weather we are having this month is what is doing it. Or it is food allergy which they also seem to have although for the life of us we dont know what it is. We have narrowed it down to certain brands of bread and certain brands of snacks. Oh boy! I am basically ready to nix anything store bought and bag going out for pizza. I am not convinced that restaraunt pizza is not a culprit in this......The only difficulty in this is all the stuff they get from school. Everytime there is a party of some sort for a birthday or holiday out come the snacks.......In fact i got quite a shock last week. We were asked to send him to school with COLA! Not just a drink, but COLA! I actually called one of the parents to check this out and sure enough, that is the requested drink. She also had issue with this, but has decided she can live once a month. In Judaism the new month on the Hebrew calendar is a big deal. It is traditional to have a special dinner or treat and treat as a holiday on a smaller scale so they have a party in school. The menu is this, sandwhiches whith chocolate spread, cola apparantly and some sort of chips. OH Boy! Fortunately, my kid is convinced he doesn't like cola. Gotta love brain washing...... :)But he loves the sandwhiches. And oddly enough, no rash either....so we figure it is a different brand of bread then we buy. So we have figured we can live once a month with a sugar high kid...He does walk a mile and a half home, so that usually wears off the the hyper.

The one thing about kids with food allergies is that I am becoming a wizard in the kitchen despite that fact that my sister thinks it is "3rd world." True I don't have a kitchen aide mixer or a bread machine but I have opted not to spend the money on those things. i do miss my bread machine from the states, but we make do. and i think in truth, the kitchen aide can take more time to clean up than is worth the "ease." A spoon is much quicker to clean and is easier to lick when its all done! I make 90% of my bread from scratch, my tomato sauce I do use a store bought paste as a base, but i am careful to make sure there are little to no additives and i just found one that claims to be straight tomato with nothing else and i will probably switch to that. I want to start making my own crackers, my M-I-L just sent me an easy recipe. And of course we do a lot of popcorn and oatmeal and the peaunt butter is all natural as well. I am also hoping to start doing only homemade applesauce, but the kids keep eating the apples before I can get them into sauce......The great thing about all this is that, we save money and I am enjoying improving my cooking skills. I don't always enjoy the time and energy it takes to cook but I do like knowing how to cook.


Next week is Purim which is the story of Queen Esther. Traditionally kids and sometimes adults dress up and here the story of Purim. It starts like everything else at night and adults here the Whole Meggilah. The Meggilah is the story of Esther. Then it is heard again the following morning. After that the tradition is to have a festive meal and deliver baskets of goodies and food to friends and neighbors to ensure that everyone has a festive meal, even those who cannot afford. We will be giving baskets to all our neighbors, 7 and then the following day we will be going into Jerusalem and will have about 8 there. Jerusalem celebrates a day later since it used to be a walled city like Shushan was back in the day of the story. We bought a few pre-made ones through the women's group for friends in Beitar. However, we will still have 15 baskets to make so a lot of work this week. We are going to do mini challahs (tradditional egg bread), mini kugel(which a noodle pie/cake essentially) and some type of dessert and/or a mini bottle of wine. Suffice to say there will be a whole lot of cooking going on this week. Purim starts a week from tomorrow night! They sell them for about $1.50 a piece around this time. We will also be having friends for our meal if all goes well. She is do anytime so they could be in the hospital in stead......The boys are going as soldiers and M will go as a bee. This will be of course if everyones attitude suits on the day of the event. It is a very festive holiday and whole lot of fun. I would like to say we will have pictures to post however, our camera died so we will be buying a disposable and sending hard copies to family only. I will try to post a follow up next week as to how it all went. After that i will be posting about our frantic race to get our house clean for Passover!

Tuesay's Tip, one day late........

I totally spaced my blog yesterday as D was home sick, surprise, surprise, with all the germs from the kids. Anyway, so it means I got to run errands with out an audience but keeps me busy too.

My tip for this week, obvious I know, but popcorn. I have secret crush on the person who invented the air popper. We use ours almost everyday. We get a healthy, no sugar, no fat, add as much or as little salt, oil or butter as desired and poof the perfect snack! It also makes a great late night snack for eema and aaba movie night. We make carmel corn, which I have a great recipe for that does not use corn syrup. We buy about a kilo (2.2lbs) every other week. It costs about $2.25 a bag. I use it for after school snacks, I take it to the park in lieu of chips or other mystery snacks or a before dinner snack because we got home late and dinner will be late filler and as dessert as I said. On Shabbat we don't cook so I try to pop 2 batches ahead of time and I store in a re-usable container and we can have popcorn on Shabbat too. It keeps great. Our last batch made it in to Monday, although that is not the norm. I think that is when everyone got sick......... I love having something cheap, easy and with no preservatives and no sugar that I can give the kids and have them feel like it is a treat.

Tuesday's Tip

I am launching a new idea on to my blog and I am hoping to stick with it. Every Tuesday I am going to try and post a short meal or snack tip. I found that my main topic of conversation with anyone with kids is, A) How to feed everyone on a tighter budget, B) How to do it quickly and C) Make it easy. So for all my friends who are short on time, money or just have a kitchen phobia and you know who you are........ Here is my first Tuesday Tip.

Oatmeal: Yes, yes, I know, this is from the person who would not go near the stuff with a 10ft. pole growing up. Fortunately my kids are not like me.......... :) Actually what I have discovered is that oatmeal is high in protein and high in fiber and is one of the most versatile foods out there. It is also easier to take backpacking than cold cereal and milk.....

We use about 2.2lbs or a kilo of oatmeal a week depending on my mood. I like it better than cold cereal as it fills my kids up and is about $2.50 for a week of breakfast as opposed to nearly $7.00 for a box of Cheerios that might last me a 1/2 a week and will have my kids saying I am hungry 15 minutes later. Here is what I get for $2.50 a week:

Note*: We use whole oats not ground, so some of these recipes are going to come out different.

Breakfast: Cooked oatmeal: 1/3 cup oats to 1 cup water. Cook to desired consistency and serve. I have added: honey, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, chocolate chips( about 4 on top only), apples......You can add any or all of these to taste. I know my family always put milk in theirs too. I still have not acquired that taste. (I know someone who puts hers in a crock pot the night before so it is done in the morning. As soon as we replace ours I want to try this.)

Breakfast 2: Serve it raw with milk. This has been our favorite this winter. We seem to be running late these days and it is faster to serve it raw with milk and sugar/honey raisins and so on then to cook it. It really is good and I got this from my father-in-law who also ate it this way growing up.

Snack: This is my favorite way to eat oatmeal these days. I take raw oatmeal and mix it with peanut butter, honey, flax seed, sunflower seeds, raisins and occasionally chocolate chips. It is high in protein and omega 3 fats (flax seed) and really tasty, takes 2 minutes to make and if you throw it in some sort of bowl and lid it can be taken anywhere. One of these days I want to cook it and make it in to bars too. And of course you can add or subtract any of these things and add new ones with this.

Cookies: I have found that on the days everyone is craving a treat but we are out of chocolate chips I can throw in oatmeal and cinnamon and jazz up a very plain cookie.

Oatmeal can also be ground into flour. I have bought oat flour before, it is a great way to add protein to a plain white flour recipe. I can't always get it where we are now so I got out of the habit, but we are switching to organic whole wheat soon, so I won't need to worry about adding extra protein then. If you buy oat flour just swap out a cup of your regular recipe for the oat flour, it is a white flour and should not change the flavor of things too much if at all.

Not bad for $2.50! I will also keep you posted on how the bars work out, if we get that far........

Bugs aren't Jewish!

A while back we got a copy of the movie "Cars" for our kids in Hebrew. If we are going to let them veg in front of the computer, we may as well make it useful right? It is a lot of fun to see the difference between the Hebrew and English and it is good practice for us all. So today we were again watching "Speedy" as it is known in Hebrew and at the end it was doing a Pixar tribute and it showed a scene from a "A Bug's Life." It lead us to a conversation about getting the movie in Hebrew. S's response was, "No way, bugs aren't Jewish!"