Chanukah has arrived! Well, it arrived about 5 days ago but this is the first chance that I had to write. All in all, Chanukah in Israel has been really great. The most exciting part is that we are lighting outside for the first time! I went on Sunday to one of the local hardware stores and bought a glass box. Then it got interesting. I figured Elie would put it together because he's just waaay better at these things than I am. But after realizing that he was not going to be able to get home early from work and we really would just want to light right away - I had to attempt to put it together on my own. Oh dear. First I took it out of the box (good thinking, right?), and looked at all the various screws and panes of glass and thought - "there is no way that I am going to be able to do this, forget it". After about an hour of playing with Tani and looking over at the pieces lying on the table, I decided to try again. I must have tried it 4 or 5 different ways before finally figuring out where all the pieces were ACTUALLY supposed to go and, wait for it, I DID IT!!!! Let's not bring up the fact that Elie could have done it probably in about 10 minutes and it took me an entire afternoon, the point is - I DID IT!!!!
Anyway, Elie and I were really excited to light because Netanel has been talking about the chanukiyah, bringing home projects (including his own chanukiyah), etc. and we couldn't wait for him to actually see it. Well, as we were lighting we brought out Tani's gan chanukiyah so he could "light" too. So that may not have been the BEST time to bring it out. He was so obsessed with sticking his "candles" into his chanukiyah that he didn't even want us to pick him up to show him the REAL one. As anti-climactic as that was, it was by no means the worst part of the first night of chanukah. Tani's bedtime was right after we lit because Elie hadn't gotten home until about 7. Tani's bedtime also meant the time when Tani has to leave his chanukiyah downstairs - oh boy. We finally got him to stop crying enough to put him into his crib relatively calm. However, about 15 minutes later we started hearing cries of "chanukiyyyyyyaaaaah" that lasted for about 30 minutes until he must have tired himself out and eventually fell asleep. I think the funniest part of the whole episode is that when I told over what happened to my ulpan class the next day, they were all like - "that's so sweet, he loves chanukah so much - ayzeh yofi!" I guess it's all how you look at it.
On Tuesday, the 2nd day of chanukah, Elie took the day off and we went up north with Elie's parents and the Eisens. Elie's cousins, Toby and Tzvi Klein (some of you Baltimoreans probably know them) who made aliyah about 2 years ago had arranged a visit to an archeological museum near their house up north in Ein Dor. We rented a car for the week and we all drove the 2 hour drive to the museum. A few interesting points about this tiyul. First, a "day of vacation" in Israel means getting up at about 6 a.m. to daven and get everything ready because we had to leave at 7 to be there by 9 - sounds like a vacation already, doesn't it? Second, I was a little concerned about the museum part of the trip seeing as Tani, while he is smart, is not quite at the point of walking quietly and calmly looking at ancient artifacts. In fact, I am not really there yet, either. So I basically packed the diaper bag as if we would never see food again - pretzels, crackers, cookies, cucumbers, bananas - you name, I had it. I figured, if all else fails, we'll just stuff him to keep him quiet. Well, I have to say, I needed very few of those snacks. The entire 3 hour tour was filled with stuff for the kids. There was pressing olives, coloring, running around, and Tani even got a chance to paint his own ancient oil lamp. We all had a really good time. After the museum we went to Toby and Tzvi's house for a HUGE lunch and then headed home around 3 p.m. It was very tiring but a really great day and everyone had fun.
Last night (Wednesday) we had a family chanukah party at our house. Kleins, Eisens, and Roses were all in attendance for latkes, baked ziti, and salad. Afterwards, everyone stuck around for a dessert/Siyyum. Elie made a siyyum on finishing Seder Mo'ed so we invited a few more men from the block (to make a minyan) and had a big dessert after the siyyum. The star of the show, aside from Elie of course, were the AMAZING sufganiyot that Sara brought from a bakery in Modiin called Roladin. There were sufganiyot of everyone taste and color you could imagine and they were all great. I have to say, as much as I miss Dunkin' Donuts and Entenmann's - 8 days full of the most amazing sufganiyot in the world may make up for it - I'll get back to you on that. (Although, it is very sad that there is not a custard sufganiya to be found.)
Tonight we are heading to Jerusalem to see some friends and then going straight to the Rose's for Shabbat Chanukah.
Hope everyone is enjoying their chanukah and time off over there in the US (I do miss having Elie home knowing that it is Dec. 25 today).
Side note: Feel free to comment - I would love to know who is reading this!!!!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Tani Spins a Dreidel
Yes, folks, it's very exciting - Tani can spin a sivivon all by himself, the day has come. I promised myself I wouldn't cry.....
The past week and a half has been relatively uneventful. Bubby and Zaidy left last Monday (Dec. 8) - a tear. We really enjoyed having them here and are anxiously awaiting their next visit in May. I am very lucky because I will actually be seeing them in a few weeks. I am going to the States at the beginning of January for about a week for Michelle Schuster's wedding (yay Michelle and Avrami). Although it is going to be close to impossible to be away from Tani and Elie for that long (and especially because it includes a shabbat and Elie and I have never been apart for shabbat - awwww), I'm really excited to see all of our friends and family back in the old country.
To expound upon this entry's title, the Chanukah craze at gan has begun! About a week ago Tani came home talking about his sivivon and menorah and a bunch of other things that we couldn't understand. As the days have progressed, he has already brought home 2 Chanukah-themed projects, an ACTUAL sivivon, and he can swing (quite nicely) the entire "Sivivon, Sof, Sof, Sof". It was a little confusing at the beginnig to decode that he was saying "Nes Gadol Hayah PO" but we evenutally figured it out. And as much as we are thrilled that Tani is learning so much, he has become a little obsessed with the sivivon. And obsessed is an absolute understatement. From the minute he wakes up in the morning until he goes to sleep at night (and sometimes longer) he is holding onto his sivivon watching it go round and round - "Look Ima, it pins (spins)!"
In truth, we are all very excited for Chanukah becuase on our block, everyone gets those plexiglass container things and lights outside their apartments. Also, we've been told, that on the first night of Chanukah they light a big menorah at the top of the street and there is a big Chanukah block-party (and we love parties, but mainly, we/I love sufganiyot). We are also hosting a Klein-Rose-Eisen Family Chanukah Party/Siyyum for Elie on Seder Mo'ed that we are very excited about.
In other news, I did 2 VERY IMPORTANT things this morning. Firstly, I went to the Misrad Hapanim and applied for my Teudat Ma'avar. To explain, a new oleh cannot get an Israeli passport until he/she has been a citizen for a year. Obviously, this poses a problem to those of us who may be travleing outside of Israel within our first year of aliyah. The solution to this problem is the Teudat Ma'avar. Secondly, I went to the eye store (in the same shopping center as the Misrad Hapanim) to get my eye test and my ALL IMPORTANT GREEN FORM so that I may begin the horrific licensing process.
Let me explain that I was very apprehensive about both of these tasks because I figured that, given my luck, I would not have the correct documentation or form or what-have-you and I would be denied either one or both of these documents. Therefore, I made SEVERAL photocopies of my Teudat Zehut, Teudat Oleh and US driver's license. Additionally, I brought all those originals with me along with my US passport and passport pictures (those I knew I would DEFINITELY need). My purse was so heavy but I felt armed and ready - like nothing could stop me now. At the Misrad Hapanim I simply needed to fill out a form and hand them the form, my Teudat Zehut, and 2 passport pictures. The process went suprisingly smoothly and I should be receiving my Teudat Ma'avar in about a week. Hmmm, I wondered - surely I will need at least ONE of my many forms at the eye store! After waiting about 20 minutes for them to actually open the shop, I went in, got my picture taken and did a 30 second eye test (which was truthfully only hard because I was identifying the numbers that I saw very quickly in hebrew and was afraid that I would make a mistake...) I then got my GREEN FORM, paid 30 NIS and left. Sadly, no one needed my beautifully photocopied pages, sigh.
The past week and a half has been relatively uneventful. Bubby and Zaidy left last Monday (Dec. 8) - a tear. We really enjoyed having them here and are anxiously awaiting their next visit in May. I am very lucky because I will actually be seeing them in a few weeks. I am going to the States at the beginning of January for about a week for Michelle Schuster's wedding (yay Michelle and Avrami). Although it is going to be close to impossible to be away from Tani and Elie for that long (and especially because it includes a shabbat and Elie and I have never been apart for shabbat - awwww), I'm really excited to see all of our friends and family back in the old country.
To expound upon this entry's title, the Chanukah craze at gan has begun! About a week ago Tani came home talking about his sivivon and menorah and a bunch of other things that we couldn't understand. As the days have progressed, he has already brought home 2 Chanukah-themed projects, an ACTUAL sivivon, and he can swing (quite nicely) the entire "Sivivon, Sof, Sof, Sof". It was a little confusing at the beginnig to decode that he was saying "Nes Gadol Hayah PO" but we evenutally figured it out. And as much as we are thrilled that Tani is learning so much, he has become a little obsessed with the sivivon. And obsessed is an absolute understatement. From the minute he wakes up in the morning until he goes to sleep at night (and sometimes longer) he is holding onto his sivivon watching it go round and round - "Look Ima, it pins (spins)!"
In truth, we are all very excited for Chanukah becuase on our block, everyone gets those plexiglass container things and lights outside their apartments. Also, we've been told, that on the first night of Chanukah they light a big menorah at the top of the street and there is a big Chanukah block-party (and we love parties, but mainly, we/I love sufganiyot). We are also hosting a Klein-Rose-Eisen Family Chanukah Party/Siyyum for Elie on Seder Mo'ed that we are very excited about.
In other news, I did 2 VERY IMPORTANT things this morning. Firstly, I went to the Misrad Hapanim and applied for my Teudat Ma'avar. To explain, a new oleh cannot get an Israeli passport until he/she has been a citizen for a year. Obviously, this poses a problem to those of us who may be travleing outside of Israel within our first year of aliyah. The solution to this problem is the Teudat Ma'avar. Secondly, I went to the eye store (in the same shopping center as the Misrad Hapanim) to get my eye test and my ALL IMPORTANT GREEN FORM so that I may begin the horrific licensing process.
Let me explain that I was very apprehensive about both of these tasks because I figured that, given my luck, I would not have the correct documentation or form or what-have-you and I would be denied either one or both of these documents. Therefore, I made SEVERAL photocopies of my Teudat Zehut, Teudat Oleh and US driver's license. Additionally, I brought all those originals with me along with my US passport and passport pictures (those I knew I would DEFINITELY need). My purse was so heavy but I felt armed and ready - like nothing could stop me now. At the Misrad Hapanim I simply needed to fill out a form and hand them the form, my Teudat Zehut, and 2 passport pictures. The process went suprisingly smoothly and I should be receiving my Teudat Ma'avar in about a week. Hmmm, I wondered - surely I will need at least ONE of my many forms at the eye store! After waiting about 20 minutes for them to actually open the shop, I went in, got my picture taken and did a 30 second eye test (which was truthfully only hard because I was identifying the numbers that I saw very quickly in hebrew and was afraid that I would make a mistake...) I then got my GREEN FORM, paid 30 NIS and left. Sadly, no one needed my beautifully photocopied pages, sigh.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Turkey Day and Bubby & Zaidy Arrive!
I know it's been a while so here's an update on the past week and a half.
This past Friday was a very, very exciting day for us Kleins. It started off with our rental car being delivered (that's right, we use a car rental place that brings it to our door and picks it up when the rental is over - beat that!). We got the rental for the week because we knew it would facilitate being able to see BUBBY and ZAIDY who are FINALLY here! As soon as we got our car we piled in and headed out to Modiin to see them. I kept telling them how weird it is to be on the other side of the equation watching them walk half-asleep and in a total daze - not really sure what day it is or whose house they are in. They spent shabbat at Gila's and I think managed to catch up on their sleep - and then some.
Then, on Friday night we had our Thanksgiving dinner at Sara's house. And we did it the real way - sweet potato soup, a REALLY BIG turkey masterfully carved by my father-in-law, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pecan pie and lots more. There were also some Israeli-style additions - chumus, schug, deli roll, etc. We had to keep everyone happy. It was a lot of funny and we all really enjoyed our Israeli Thanksgiving. Although, I have to say, I really, really, really missed watching the parade and I also miss walking the streets of NY this time of year and going into the chaos that is Macy's to see it decorated in holiday fare. So for any of you who are there - take pictures for me!
On Sunday, I went with Tani to Modiin in the morning because the plan was to take a train at around 12:30 to a really nice park in Tel Aviv. I figured I would get to Modiin in the morning and let Tani nap at my sister's so by the time we were ready to go, he would be all energized. That was the ORIGINAL plan. It turns out that when Gila picked up the kids from gan, Yaakov's eye looked red and she had to make a doctor's appointment. The soonest appointment they had was 7 p.m. so we decided to just go to a park close by. This actually turned out to be great because I don't think Bubby and Zaidy realized that they wouldn't exactly be over their jet lag by Sunday. And they weren't. We went to a rock park just a few minutes away and Zaidy took Yaakov on a hike while Gila and Ariella explored. Bubby and I stayed with Tani and he was extremely happy playing on the 10 or so rocks by the picnic tables. I have to say that I was very proud watching him climb up and down those rocks with no problem at all. We had some snacks and then headed back to Gila's. We rested/played/made sure Tani didn't color all over the couch for a little while and then at 5:30 Donny came home and we all went out to a great place for dinner. It was a long day and Tani and I finally got home around 8:00, phew!
I decided to take advantage of actually HAVING A CAR for the week and got A LOT of errands done on Monday. Today (Tuesday) I went to Modiin in the morning to have a nice breakfast with Gila, my parents, and Gila's friend Lisa. Then we stopped at a bakery and bought treats and I got to take one home! Yay - I loooove treats!
Tomorrow morning my parents make the long move from Modiin to Bet Shemesh. After they arrive here, I am going with them to spend some time in Yerushalayim and then we have a big BBQ at the Klein's in the evening.
As for how the rest of the week goes, you'll have to check back next week to find out. Although, I'm not thinking about next week because that means facing the reality that Momz and Dadz AREN'T moving in with us until after the baby's born.
This past Friday was a very, very exciting day for us Kleins. It started off with our rental car being delivered (that's right, we use a car rental place that brings it to our door and picks it up when the rental is over - beat that!). We got the rental for the week because we knew it would facilitate being able to see BUBBY and ZAIDY who are FINALLY here! As soon as we got our car we piled in and headed out to Modiin to see them. I kept telling them how weird it is to be on the other side of the equation watching them walk half-asleep and in a total daze - not really sure what day it is or whose house they are in. They spent shabbat at Gila's and I think managed to catch up on their sleep - and then some.
Then, on Friday night we had our Thanksgiving dinner at Sara's house. And we did it the real way - sweet potato soup, a REALLY BIG turkey masterfully carved by my father-in-law, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pecan pie and lots more. There were also some Israeli-style additions - chumus, schug, deli roll, etc. We had to keep everyone happy. It was a lot of funny and we all really enjoyed our Israeli Thanksgiving. Although, I have to say, I really, really, really missed watching the parade and I also miss walking the streets of NY this time of year and going into the chaos that is Macy's to see it decorated in holiday fare. So for any of you who are there - take pictures for me!
On Sunday, I went with Tani to Modiin in the morning because the plan was to take a train at around 12:30 to a really nice park in Tel Aviv. I figured I would get to Modiin in the morning and let Tani nap at my sister's so by the time we were ready to go, he would be all energized. That was the ORIGINAL plan. It turns out that when Gila picked up the kids from gan, Yaakov's eye looked red and she had to make a doctor's appointment. The soonest appointment they had was 7 p.m. so we decided to just go to a park close by. This actually turned out to be great because I don't think Bubby and Zaidy realized that they wouldn't exactly be over their jet lag by Sunday. And they weren't. We went to a rock park just a few minutes away and Zaidy took Yaakov on a hike while Gila and Ariella explored. Bubby and I stayed with Tani and he was extremely happy playing on the 10 or so rocks by the picnic tables. I have to say that I was very proud watching him climb up and down those rocks with no problem at all. We had some snacks and then headed back to Gila's. We rested/played/made sure Tani didn't color all over the couch for a little while and then at 5:30 Donny came home and we all went out to a great place for dinner. It was a long day and Tani and I finally got home around 8:00, phew!
I decided to take advantage of actually HAVING A CAR for the week and got A LOT of errands done on Monday. Today (Tuesday) I went to Modiin in the morning to have a nice breakfast with Gila, my parents, and Gila's friend Lisa. Then we stopped at a bakery and bought treats and I got to take one home! Yay - I loooove treats!
Tomorrow morning my parents make the long move from Modiin to Bet Shemesh. After they arrive here, I am going with them to spend some time in Yerushalayim and then we have a big BBQ at the Klein's in the evening.
As for how the rest of the week goes, you'll have to check back next week to find out. Although, I'm not thinking about next week because that means facing the reality that Momz and Dadz AREN'T moving in with us until after the baby's born.
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