Yungers in Action: Serach bas Asher re-enacted

Today Bruria made a Kinor out of clics, and she started running around the house singing a song about Serach bas Asher- she must have sang it at least 20 times by the time I got the camera out- it was absolutely adorable!

(for those of you who requested the words:)

שרח לוחשת לסבא יעקב
על אוזנו לוחשת סוד

עוד יוסף חי- הוא מלך בצמרים
יש לו שתי בנים- מנשה ואפרים

- עוד יוסף חי
דיין זון יוסף ליבט
הוא מלך בצמרים
ער איז א קעניג אין מצרים

Rabbit Food

My kids have a new method of eating carrots- they like me to peel the whole thing, all the way down to nothing, and then they eat the peels. They say this way they are like rabbits (we used to give our peels to our neighbors, to feed their rabbits, until they spoiled the rabbits by giving them REAL veggies!)

It's a little ridiculous, but at least they're eating vegetables!

Sister Get-Together

Today we had a little Minkus sisters get-together (we were supposed to see each other over Chanuka but it didn't work out- that's a whole nother story) and it was a blast! Everyone came out to Beitar, and we had some real nice family time. My kids were all looking forward to it- they told all their friends we were having a party- one of them even called up and asked if he could come (but we said no- family only!) We even had a special guest...Mommy/Bubbie! Well, not really in person, but we did a web-cam hookup, and we all really enjoyed shmoozing with Mommy/Bubbie! Then we had an early supper- everyone brought something - it was delicious! We were so sad when it was time for everyone to go, but be"h we'll have to try to do this more often!

How many languages do YOU speak?

Yisrael decided that he is multi-lingual. Well, he really is, but he thinks that he "speaks" many more languages than just English and Ivrit. So we asked him, what other languages do you speak? Here's his response:

• Yiddish: "When my Rebbe answers his cell phone, he says 'Vas Hertzich' and that's Yiddish!" (He is actually picking up a bit of Yiddish in Cheder- his Rebbe sings a lot of Yiddishe songs with them, and he throws in a bit of Yiddish here and there, such as his good morning routine)



• Arabic: "A dreidel in Aravit is a Sababon (his Rebbe taught him that), and if you want to eat watermelon, you have to say 'Ana badi batich' '" (he got that from Saba Yosef)



• Tzarfatit (French): Some word that the Rebbe from the other class taught them one day when his Rebbe wasn't there- I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I guess that's because I don't speak French (although I do know how to say please and thank you in French...)



• Spanish: Uno, Dos, Tres... (courtesy of me, which I can thank Sesame Street for!)

At the rate he's going, he'll be "speaking" seventy languages in just a few years...I guess he's getting geared up to serve on the Sanhedrin, be"h soon!

You're not my mother!

Its a rare occasion that I end up wearing my sheitel. During the week, I almost never put it on, and even on Shabbos, I often end up wearing a nice Shabbos snood - its just much more conducive to running after the kids, and cuddling with them on the couch- and this way they don't end up pulling the hair and messing it up!

Well this past Shabbos, for a change, I decided to put my sheitel on. As soon as I came downstairs, the kids all commented, "Oh, Mommy has a sheitel!" - they seemed excited (ususally if I wear a sheitel it means we're going somewhere!) but Naftali took one look at me and started SCREAMING! I tried to pick him up and he recoiled- he immediately reached for Bentzi, and looked at me with absolute horror. Bentzi picked him up and calmed him down, but as soon as he looked at me again, he started crying again- hysterically!

It took him quite a while to get used to looking at me- I guess he didn't realize it was me! But B"H he finally settled down, and came to terms with the fact that this woman with hair, who sounds like his mother, and acts like his mother, must really be his mother!

What 'color' are you?

Yisrael has started to become aware of the different 'colors' of frumkeit. He learns in a litvishe cheder, but most (if not all) of the Rebbeim are either Chasidish or Yerushalmi. So he's starting to learn about the different types of Yidden- But I'm not sure if he realizes that the differences are anything beyond appearances. One day, as we were eating lunch, he told us:

Yisrael: Dovid, a boy in my class, is a Lita'iy, even though his Tatty is a Chassid
Tatty: Really, how could that be?
Yisrael: Well, his father has long peyos so he's a Chassid, but Dovid's peyos are short, so he's a Lita'iy. And you know what else? I'm a Chassid even though you (Tatty) aren't, because I have long peyos!
Tatty: (more to me than to Yisrael) Oh, I guess that means that we'll have to cut your peyos!

His peyos have gotten pretty long- by his last haircut he wouldn't let me cut his peyos, since he wanted them to be like his Rebbe's. But now we decided that enough is enough, so on Erev Shabbos, Bentzi gave his peyos a trim. Afterwards, Yisrael came running to me and said, "Mommy, look! Now I'm not a Chassid anymore, because Tatty cut my peyos! Now I'm a Lita'iy!"

(Just wait until he realizes that there's more...there also Sefardim, and then there's Chabad who are Chassidim even though they dress more like Litvish, then there are Breslov who are Sefardim AND Chassidim, then there's also Dati Leumi, Dati, Mesorati....wouldn't it be much simpler if we were all just plain JEWISH?!?! )

That reminds me of a poem I once read....I'll post it here as well - (sorry if this post is getting too long!)

Moshiach's Hat (A Poem To Ponder)

By Anonymous ben Klonymous (who else?)

'Twas the night of the Geulah,
And in every single Shtiebel
Sounds of Torah could be heard
Coming from every kind of Yeedel.

This one in English,
Some in Hebrew, some in Yiddish.
Some saying P'shat
And some saying a Chiddish.

And up in Shamayim
The Aibishter decreed:
"The time has come
For My children to be freed.

"Rouse the Moshiach
From his heavenly berth.
Have him get in his chariot,
And head down to earth."

The Moshiach got dressed
And with a heart full of glee,
Went down to earth and entered
the first Shtiebel he did see.

"I am the Moshiach!
Hashem has heard your plea!
Your Geulah has come!
It's time to go free!

"They all stopped their learning;
This was quite a surprise.
And they look at him carefully,
With piercing sharp eyes-

"He's not the Moshiach!"
Said one with a grin,
"Just look at his hat,
At the pinches and brim!"

"That's right!" cried another
With a grimace and frown,
"Whoever heard of Moshiach,
With a brim that's turned down?"

"Well," thought Moshiach,
"If this is the rule,
I'll turn my brim up
Before I go to the next shul."

So he walked right on over
To the next shul in town.
Sure to be accepted,
Since his brim was no longer down.

"I'm, the Moshiach!" he cried,
As he began to enter
But the Jews wanted to know first
If he was Left Right or Center

Your clothes are so black!"
They cried out in fright.
"You can't be Moshiach!-
You're much too far right!"

"If you want to be Moshiach,
You must be properly outfitted."
So they replaced his black hat
With a Kippah that was knitted.

Wearing his new Kippah,
Moshiach went out and said:
"No difference to me
What I wear on my head."

So he went to the next shul,
For his mission was dear.
But he was getting frustrated -
With the Yidden down here.

"I'm the Moshiach!" he cried,
And they all stopped to stare,
And a complete eerie stillness
Filled up the air.

"You're the Moshiach?!
Just imagine that!
Whoever heard of Moshiach
Without a black hat?"

"But I do have a hat!
The Moshiach then said.
So he pulled it right out
And plunked it down on his head.

Then the shul started laughing,
And one said " Where's your kop?
You can't have Moshiach
With a brim that's turned up!"

"If you want to be Moshiach
And be accepted in this town,
Put some pinches in your hat
And turn that brim down!"

Moshiach walked out and said:
"I guess my time hasn't come.
I'll just return
To where I came from."

So he went to his chariot,
But as he began to enter,
all sorts of Jews appeared
From the Left, Right, and Center.

"Please wait - do not leave.
It's all their fault!" they said,
And they pointed to each other
And to what was on each other's head.

Moshiach just looked sad
And said, " You don't understand."
And then started up his chariot
To get out of this land.

"Yes, it's very wonderful
That you all learn Torah,
But you seem to have forgotten
A crucial part of our Mesorah."

"What does he mean?"
"What's he talking about?"
And they all looked bewildered,
And they all began to shout.

Moshiach looked back and answered,
"The first place to start,
Is to shut up your mouths
And open your hearts.

"To each of you, certain Yidden
Seem too Frum or too Frei,
But all Yidden are beloved
in the Aibishter's eye."

And on his way up he shouted:
"If you want me to come,
Try working a little harder
On some Ahavas Chinam!"

Yungers in Action: Mixing bowl... or a merry-go-round?

The kids love to play with my big mixing bowl- ususally they fill it with toys and "cook" - but today Bruria found a new use for it:

Cute Quote: How to pronounce Bruria's name

Yisrael: BRuRia (hard American-sounding R), come here!
Bruria: That's not my name! My name is Brrrurrria (throaty, Israeli resh)!
Yisrael: I know- that's your name in Ivrit- but I'm saying your name in English!

Got Milk?

Mornings in the Yunger household can get pretty hectic - so sometimes I tend to "neglect" the younger two until I get Yisrael and Bruria ready to go to Cheder and Gan. One morning, Azriel Shraga kept asking me for a drink of milk, and I kept telling him "Soon" or "One minute". Well I guess he got tired of waiting, and he decided to take matters into his own hands!

I'm a winner

(Yes, I know we all knew that already...)

I am the second winner of the 8 Nights, 8 Flights email campaign, run by Oorah! Pretty crazy, huh? I always sign up for these things, figuring- "what do I have to lose- its free!" but somehow I don't have mazal to actually win things (until now, that is!)

So when Mommy called me yesterday because she saw that I won, I was shocked! I was in the middle of putting the kids to bed, and they couldn't figure out why all of a sudden Mommy was shrieking like a lunatic (like I said, exciting things like this usually don't happen to me!)

So basically, I am now the proud owner of a free trip to/from Israel ($1000 max) which has to be used by the end of 2010. Or, I can opt for the $850 cash prize.

So when am I coming to visit? Not sure if and when that will be. Maybe if there's a chasuna in the family? (no pressure, Tehila!) Yisrael already told me that HE wants to use the ticket to fly to America (yeah right, he cries if we try to get him to walk to Cheder by himself...) or we could always opt for the $....a little bit extra cash could never hurt!

Anyway, there's still another 5 drawings left, so make sure to sign up if you haven't already....you may be the next winner!

Bruria's Chanuka party in Gan

Today I was invited to Bruria's gan to partake in a special Chanuka party. Her teachers really went all-out to prepare a really nice morning. Her music teacher came, and she had numerous different activities and props to do with the kids, some of which are pictured below.

(All nursery morahs and ganenets should pay some real close attention: you can get some really cute ideas!)

First, we did a lot of music activities- each girl got a pom-pom (with ribbons the colors of flames) to shake while they sang (see top left picture- sorry that she has her finger in her nose but I couldn't get a better shot!). After that, each girl got a musical instruments to play along with the music. We also sand a song about lighting the menorah, and we 'lit' a menorah made out of styrofoam (which the girls had decorated a different day), by sticking in toothpicks with 'flames' on the ends. After that, we sang a song about making olive oil, and each girl got to 'squeeze' her (pretend) olive into a huge bottle! We also did a special dreidel dance, with each mother spinning her 'dreidel' (daughter) around and around!

Next, they had the mothers hold onto a huge black sheet, and the girls all danced around underneath- to symbolize darkness. Then, they told all the girls to pop out through the holes, so they could have light! (see top right picture)

Finally, her teachers constructed a huge 'frying pan', and each girl was given a sufganiya hat. They danced around inside the frying pan, and when they were all ready, us mothers put 'jelly' on them! (see both bottom pictures)

We were then treated to a sumptuous milchig brunch, and of course each girl got a pekala! It was really a very sweet morning, and I must say that both Bruria and I really enjoyed!

Mechira Madness

Well, for those of you who have been wondering why I've been a little out-of-touch lately, I have a VERY good excuse. I have been busy organizing a huge "Yard" sale (I call it a Mechira) to raise money for Bentzi's yeshiva. I did it once in the summer, and it was a big success, so I decided that now would be a good time to do another one. Basically, we got donations of clothes, shoes, books, housewares, etc., and I had to go through everything and throw out whatever was not sellable, and sort and price whatever was. It was a VERY big job, but B"H we had the sale for two days this week and we raised over $3,500! I am doing another sale next week, where everything will be 50% off, so hopefully we'll bring in some more!

(now that things are starting to wind down with the sale, I've got to catch up with everything else that's fallen to the wayside...PLEASE don't look at the state of my house right now!)

UPDATE 12/10/09: B"H our last sale went well, and our total is now over $4,500!

Haircut Mishaps

Today I gave Yisrael a haircut, and after going across his head once, the machine decided to stop working! Yikes! He was VERY shaggy already (I've been so busy with other things that his haircut kept getting pushed off until it was really in a desperate state...) and anyways, once I started I couldn't just stop, but what to do now? One neighbor of mine goes to the barber, so they don't have a machine, and another one told me that hers is broken. So I grabbed Naftali, and ran to ask another neighbor (of course they DO have one but the parents were sleeping....)

Anyway, I ran back home, and figured that we'd first eat supper, and then hopefully I'd find a way to finish up his hair.

Well, as soon as I came back, I had a feeling something wasn't right- it was just TOO QUIET! (Mind you, I was gone for all of 2 minutes?) Well, I ran upstairs, and found Yisrael and Bruria giving Azriel Shraga a haircut! B"H it wasn't nearly as bad as the last haircut Bruria did- they only managed to cut off a few curls...and his hair is messy enough that you don't really notice that anything is missing! (but if you're not supposed to cut a boy's hair until he's 3, does the fact that you can't notice make it OK?! I'm not really too worried!)

I gave the kids supper, and meanwhile my other neighbor came home, and lent me her machine. So now, B"H, Yisrael has a nice haircut (except that he won't let me trim his peyos, because he wants them to be long, like his Chassidishe teacher!)

Well, if you won't peel it for me....

Naftali has started helping himself to food from the refridgerator- he sneaks inside whenever I or one of the other kids opens it, and I find him biting into all sorts of foods- peppers, tomatoes, even cloves of garlic!

Today he got his hands on a clementina, and since no one peeled it for him, I guess he decided he would just have to bite right in, and eat it peel and all! He was VERY upset when I took it away from him- it almost seemed as if he was ENJOYING the peel!

Happy Birthday, Yisrael!

Today was the 29th of Cheshvan-- Yisrael's 5th birthday! He has been waiting for his birthday since Rosh Chodesh (!) so I told him that after 4 Shabbosim, Monday would be his birthday. So he has been counting the weeks, eaterly looking forward...and finally the big day arrived! He wore Shabbos clothes to school and passed out goodies to his friends. For breakfast, I let him drink a bag of Shoko (chocolate milk)- he was begging for it last week, so I told him he could have it on his birthday. Then, in the afternoon we had his friend Yisrael Meir Ratner over, and we decorated cupcakes! They were YUMMY! IY"H we should be zoche to see much Nachas from him as he continues to grow and mature!

(Bruria and Azriel Shraga were too busy eating their cupcakes to pose properly....

this is the best shot I could get!)

Grocery Shopping with Mommy

This morning I did my weekly fruit and vegetable shopping. As usual, I took Azriel Shraga and Naftali with me (they are home with me in the mornings). But last week, one of the workers got upset at me for bringing my stroller into the store (I've got a BIG double stroller, and the store is quite small...) So this time I decided to avoid a confrontation, and I put the kids into the shopping cart and left my "truck-sized" stroller in the "parking lot".

Only problem is that they don't make shopping carts with two seats, and this one didn't have a strap either. So I put Azriel Shraga in the seat and sat Naftali down in the cart. Well of course, Naftali immediately stood up, and the two of them were so excited to be in such great view (and reach!) of all the food!

"Mommy, buy (clemen)tina!" Azriel Shraga said. And then he saw they pomegranates- "I want (ri)mon!"

I was busy picking out zuchinnis, and I when I turned around, I saw Naftali chomping into a HUGE apple. He was SO thrilled with himself! I tried taking it away from him so I could pay for it, and he was horrified!

But then, as soon as I put the bananas in the cart, he threw down his apple and started trying to eat the bananas (peel and all!) He was quite upset when he saw that they don't taste as yummy with the peel still on!

(It gets even better...)

Next, I went to the grocery section. Doritos were on sale 5 for 10 Shekel, so put them in the cart. Naftali immediately grabbed a bag and started chewing it, and as soon as Azriel Shraga saw them, he started complaining, "Mommy, I'm hungry to the bottom!" (This is a household phrase in our home, coined by Yisrael, to mean that he's SO hungry that he's on empty! However, Azriel Shraga uses it even when he's not hungry 'to the bottom'- he'll say it when he's got a craving for something!)

So of course, as soon as we left the store, we had to stop for a munch- apples, bananas, clementinas, and of course, Doritos!

Edible Edifices

Today we had a really fun afternoon...we made houses out of wafers! The foundation was a tea bisquit, and we used chocolate spread to stick on wafer "bricks". Then we made the roof from more tea bisquits, "cemented" together with more chocolate spread. The kids had a really nice time making them (Azriel Shraga needed my help) - and they had even MORE fun eating them! (of course he needed NO help with that!)

Here's an up-close view:

In case you're wondering what motivated me to do this....Yisrael has been giving us a hard time going to cheder- he doesn't like to leave us when we drop him off. So today Bentzi took him, and saw that there were doing construction by his school- so he told Yisrael that he should watch them, because in the afternoon he'll get to build something with wafers! I was like..huh? How will we do that? But B"H I figured it out, and it was a big hit!
I just hope he won't start asking to do this everyday...its not nearly as healthy (or economic!) as building with legos or clics!

Konked out on the couch

Naftali has this new thing where he likes to stand up in the stroller- even if he is strapped in! Today we were out ALL MORNING, and the entire time he was standing or sitting up- he wouldn't even lie down to take a bottle! (Azriel Shraga was with us too, but when he got tired, he just laid down in the stroller and took a nap!)

Finally, when we got home, Naftali collapsed on the couch- but lest you think that he laid himslef down on the couch- he was standing up (suprise!) against the arm of the couch...but he was so tired that he just konked out!

Cute Quote: Financial Woes

Yisrael: Mommy, how much money do we have?
Mommy: B"H we have enough money to buy everything that we need.
Yisrael: But Mommy, I NEED to know how much money we have!
Mommy: We have more than one hundred shekalim!
Yisrael: Do we have Meah v'tish'im v'tish'im shekalim? (whenever he wants to use a big number, that's the number he uses!)
Mommy: Yes!
Yisrael: (with a look of relief on his face) Oh, good!

Finger Lickin' Good!

We have a great book that Bubbie bought us a few years ago, which teaches colors and couting. Each page is a different color scheme, with numerous photos of different objects.

This morning, Azriel Shraga was looking at the brown page. He came up to me with the book, and showed me- "Mommy, look! Cocolate!" He then ran back to the couch to continue looking at the book. A few moments later, I glanced over in his direction, and I saw that he was rubbing the picture of the chocolate with his finger, and then he stuck it in his mouth to lick it! He kept doing it even after he saw I watching...and he seemed totally serious about it!

(That's a great diet tactic.....)

Cute Quote: מי האיש החפץ חיים

(Intro: When I cook beets, I started peeling and cutting them first. The juice from the beets is very healthy- its full of antioxidants- so we started saving the juice and drinking it)

Yisrael: You should drink some beet juice, Bruria.
Bruria: But I don't like it.
Yisrael: But you should drink it because its very healthy. If you drink it, then even when its time for you to be מת, you will still live לעולם ועד.
(a few minutes later, Yisrael hands me the cup of beet juice)
Yisrael: Here, Mommy, put this away. I don't want it.
Mommy: Yisrael, why didn't you finish the beet juice? Its very healthy! (I was egging him on!)
Yisrael: I don't like it, but I drank some [anyway] so that I will live לעולם ועד. I don't want anymore now.

(IY"H he, and the rest of us, should all be zoche to אריכת ימים, whether or not we drink beet juice!)

Fishy Fright

(I know you're probably all thinking that I've totally lost it- she's blogging about her goldfish?!?!)

Tonight I had to scoop all of the fish out of their bowl (container, really) so that I could clean it out. As I did, the "Mommy" fish, as the kids dubbed her, jumped out of the cup I had her in, and plopped onto the floor. She was flapping around all over the place...and of course I was too freaked out to pick her up. B"H Bentzi was there to save the day...otherwise I would have had a few very dissappointed children tomorrow...

Junior Gymnastics

We changed the clocks about a month ago (right before Yom Kippur) so its been getting dark really early- Shkiya is before 5 PM! So since we can't spend as much time outdoors, we are trying to come up with more indoor activities. Today's activity was......gymnastics! We had a lot of fun doing somersaults (or גלגולי ראש as the kids say in Hebrew!)
I even did a headstand for the kids, which they LOVED - even Naftali thought it was crazy to see his Mommy upside down! (I used to be the headstand champion growing up- and while I can't do it for nearly as long as I used to, I think its pretty amazing that I can do it all, after having 4 babies!) I tried showing the kids how to do it against the wall....obviously they couldn't do it, but we'll have to keep practicing!

We all had a blast, and when we were done, we were WORN OUT! (Good thing it was bedtime!)

The newest members (???) of the Yunger Dynasty

On Rosh Hashana, Bentzi's yeshiva had a big bin full of water with around 25 goldfish swimming around, for Tashlich (yes, I know that's pretty pathetic, but with no rivers or springs around, that's what people here do!)

After Sukkos, I was in Yeshiva to take care of a few things and I saw that they still had a few goldfish left (the rest were dead, floating around in the bin!) I asked the secretary if I could take them home for my kids- and he said, PLEASE!

So we now have 4 goldfish living on our kitchen counter! We'll see how long they survive! (My theory is that if these 4 are still around, after they were obviously not cared for so well in the Yeshiva, then they must be the strongest of the bunch- the survival of the fittest - while Bentzi says that the reason that so many of the fish died is because of the aveiros from Tashlich...)

In any case, we are enjoying them! The kids love to watch them swim around, and when we feed them, they love to watch them gobble it up!

Troublemaker in Training

I was feeding the kids supper one night, and Naftali finished and wanted to come out of his highchair. So I put him down and continued to feed the other kids. A minute later, I turned around to check on him (he was being too quiet!) and I found him pulling out an entire bag of tissues!

Its funny how kids just KNOW how to make trouble, without even needing to be taught!

Cute Quote: What do Tatty's do in Yeshiva?

NOTE: this is a big milestone for Azriel Shraga...he is b"h talking enough that he's made it to the "Cute Quotes" section of our blog!!!!

Today I had to go to the Yeshiva to take care of a few things, and I took Azriel Shraga with:

Azriel Shraga: Mommy, I want Tatty shiva
Mommy: No, sweatheart, Tatty is not in Yeshiva now.
Azriel Shraga: [stamps foot] I want Tatty shiva!
Mommy: We are in Tatty's Yeshiva! What do you want? (I already knew what he was getting at....)
Azriel Shraga: Want dance shiva, get candy!

(I guess after the Simchas Bais HaShoeva and Simchas Torah, he thinks that all they do in Yeshiva is dance and give out candy!)

You can't fool me, Mama!

I was eating chocolate pudding this morning, and as soon as Naftali saw me, he opened his mouth wide and started begging for some. So I mixed some into the baby cereal that I was (unsuccessfully) trying to feed him. But when I put the spoon next to his mouth, he clamped it shut- and started reaching for my pudding! Of course when I offered him a spoonful of pure pudding, he had no problem taking it! Its amazing how fast they learn to like junk (he's not even a year yet!!)

Progress Report: Naftali knows how to stand!

We've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to update all of you on Naftali's progress (he doesn't have any "cute quotes" yet...) In any case, he started standing himself up a few weeks ago, and since then, he is always on the lookout for things to hold onto to pull himself up- the crib, the stroller, chairs, toys...you name it!


(Yes, I know he's WAY behind his cousin Chana but that's because she is KA"H very advanced...)

Our trip to the .....

Today we took the kids on a suprise trip ....and we sure had a lot of fun! We kept the destination(s) a secret from them until we got there- we wanted to build up some suspense and anticipation! Yisrael was really into it, he kept trying to figure out where we were going....and boy was he thrilled when he saw that our first stop was....

The beach! The kids had a blast playing in the sand, and "swimming" in the water!

After that, we drove up to Ramat Gan and went to the Safari- it was really fun- lots of animals came up close to the car, and the kids really enjoyed seeing them! We fethem some pretzels so that they'd come close to us- and they really liked them- the antelope kept licking our car window, looking for more!

In the main zoo section, we saw an elephant nursing its baby, and we also got real close to the giraffes- we started feeding them plants, but of course the zoo staff caught us red-handed!

Finally, we ate supper in the beautiful park next to the zoo- the second largest park in Israel. The kids had fun rolling around in the grass, and I had fun taking pictures!

It was a really nice trip, but we were all exhausted and happy to come home after such a busy day!

Cute Quote: Lollypop Love

Today I gave out lollypops to the kids, and a few minutes later, I heard Yisrael and Bruria arguing:

Yisrael: Me!
Bruria: No, me!
Yisrael: No, ME!
Mommy: Kinderlach, what are you fighting about?
Yisrael: I want to give you a lick of my lollypop
Bruria: No, Mommy, I love you (stamps foot) and I want you to have a lick from MY lollypop!

(I really appreciated the gesture, but I didn't take them up on the offer!)

Helping to build the Sukkah

Just the other day, Bentzi was saying how he can't wait until the boys get a bit older and they can help him build the Sukkah....well I guess Azriel Shraga thinks he's old enough to help already! This morning, Bentzi was putting up the schach, and when he turned around, he found Azriel Shraga climbing up the ladder! He was thrilled- "Making sukkah!" he said, smililng from ear to ear. When we took him down, he was quite upset... apparently he seems to think he's old enough to help, even though we don't!

Kapparos

Here's a picture of Yisrael touching the chicken when we went to Kapparos (I'm holding the chicken and the camera at the same time, so its not such a great shot....)

Here's Bruria with a "Keter shel Kapparot" that she made in gan- its got pictures of fish and coins on the sides- cute, no?!

Cute Quote: What to wear???

I was getting Bruria dressed the first morning of Rosh Hashana, and I started to put on the dress she had worn the night before:

Bruria: No, Mommy, I don't want to wear that dress today!
Mommy: Why not?
Bruria: I want to wear a dress that our guest didn't see yet!

Bruria's new hairstyle

Well I've tried to fix up Bruria's hair the best I can- the bangs are not quite even and noticeably thicker on one side than on the other, but I don't want to cut too much off or it will take even longer to grow back in. If I put her hair into two high ponytails, then the "layers" on the side of her head fit in the pony...so B"H its not so bad. The bang look is even starting to grow on me- she looks kind of cute...except that when she wakes up in the morning they are a huge mess, sticking up all over!


And after reading all your comments, I just wanted to clarify a few points:

• Mommy- The scissors were NOT laying around- Bruria pulled them out of the drawer! It seems like NOTHING in this house is "out of the reach of children" unless its hanging from the ceiling (and even then, they try to bang the ceiling fan with a broomstick!)


• Ruthie- "her genes taught her" - it wasn't me who cut my hair when I was little...it was a friend of mine who will go unnamed! (but that was much worse...she practically scalped me, so Mommy had to give me an awful boy haircut...so I should be happy that all Bruria did was give herself some bangs!)


• Mrs. Feldman- oy vey! Please don't tell me that! I thought that now I was "yotzei"!


• I loved the poems! This was really fun! Thank you (?!) Bruria for giving us all a good laugh!

Getting dressed by yourself

Our mornings are quite hectic, ka"h, with 4 kids to dress and feed -so I figured its high time that Yisrael and Bruria start getting dressed by themselves (I pick out the clothes for them)....the only problem is that they have absolutely NO interest in getting dressed in the morning (they'd love to lounge around in PJ's all day!).....it seems that the only one who wants to get dressed by himself is not quite capable yet!

Ode to Bruria's Hair

In a far away place,
There was a lovely family,
With but one little girl,
Among sons numbering three.

Well this girl's mother,
With her hair she would play
Braids, pigtails or curls,
A different style every day.

This mother was very picky-
Doing the hair took quite long,
But often she’d re-do it,
Since it just looked all wrong.

Thought the mother to herself,
As she did her daughter’s hair,
Were I to have more daughters-
This would be an all day affair!

Well the very next day,
Everything did change,
When her dear little daughter,
Found a scissor in reaching range.

The girl chopped off her hair-
Her styling skills were poor,
She left hairs of all lengths,
Strewn across the bathroom floor.

She cut herself some uneven bangs,
Halfway around her head,
Instead of her long, lovely locks,
She had a zig-zag look instead.

The poor mother was distraught-
What could she possibly do?
There was no doubt about it-
Her styling days were through!

Well the mother will have to learn,
Not to always be so vain,
(Or at least for the time being,
Until the hair grows back again!)

Grabbing candy already?!?!

I was busy in the kitchen one morning, when I heard Naftali and Azriel Shraga screaming. I went to see what happened- and I found Naftali sucking on a lollypop I had given to Azriel Shraga! "Toli take Shaga dandy!" he told me! Naftali was thrilled with his loot...he knew exactly what to do with it!

Brain boo-boo's

A while back, Yisrael got a bike*. He loves to ride it up and down the block, and sometimes we even take it with us to the park - he's even ridden his bike from the very top of Beitar all the way home!

I bought him a helmet and exlained to him how it will help protect his head in case lo aleinu he should fall from the bike. I told him that inside our head is our brain, which is one of the most important parts of the body, and that we want to make sure that it doesn't get hurt.

Well one day, when we had visitors, Yisrael was out riding his bike. All of a sudden, he came running inside, screaming, "Mommy! I got a boo-boo on my brain!" We all had a good laugh!

*many thanks to my brother-in-law Yon who supplied the bike, and to my friend Tali Messing who brought it to Beitar!

A day in the park

Today the weather was gorgeous, so we decided to go up to Park HaShlosha, a beautiful park in the top of Beitar that we only recently discovered. I actually remembered to bring my camera along (I always seem to forget to take it when we go to the park) - and I managed to get some great shots!

No more toothless grins

Naftali officially has two teeth...he cut the first one last week, and then the second one cut through today....

Updated 9/2/09- the next two teeth have come in now....we'd better watch out in case he starts to bite!

Cute Quote: What language was that?

Yisrael:    Mommy, we speak English in Cheder!
Mommy:  Really???
Yisrael:    Yes! Every morning, when Rebbi Shea comes into my kitah, he says "Good Morning Tired Yingelech!" and then we say to him, "Good Morning Tired Rebbi!"
Mommy:  Oh, Yisrael sweety, that's not English, its Yiddish! Your Rebbi is saying "גוט מארגן טייערע ינגלעך"....

Bruria singing "Abba Sheli Lomeid"

INTRO: I first heard this song when my sister Ruthie was in seminary- they learned it from some Israeli kids and thought it was really touching. So you can imagine how pleased and touched I was when my daughter came home from gan singing it!

Here's the words (she doesn't know them perfectly yet!)

אבא שלי לומד
בזכותו העולם עומד
כשאבא שלי לומד תורה
הבית נתמלא אורה

לכן חשוב מאוד
לא להפריע לו ללמוד
כי אין מתנה יותר יקרה
מאבא שלומד תורה

May we be zoche that she will always appreciate the beauty and חשיבות of לימוד התורה, and that she will see her father (and בע"ה one day her husband) make great accomplishments in their learning! אמן!

Loads of fun at SpeedyKef

Our major family outing of the summer was a trip to ספידיכיף, a small amusement park a few minutes away from Beitar. We had a blast! They have an outdoor pool with water slides, with separate hours for men and women- and when its not swimming time, there are lots of other attractions for the kids, like bumper cars, jumping castles, a train ride, a petting zoo and more. The kids had a blast in the pool (Azriel Shraga got to go swimming during both men's and women's hours....he LOVED it!) and they really enjoyed the other rides as well.

I really wanted to go on the roller coaster- they have one which is built into the slopes of the mountain- but none of the kids wanted to come and the line was so long that I couldn't justify making everyone wait for so long just so I could get a thrill! So I ended up going on the "simulator" with Yisrael and Azriel Shraga (Bruria REFUSED to even get near it) - it's basically a circular ride where you sit and it spins you around- nothing too fancy- but after spinning a couple times, I just couldn't wait to get off (I guess I'm getting old!) - as soon as it ended, I got off- but the boys both started to scream "Again!" I wasn't sure if Azriel Shraga would be okay without me holding him, but he didn't want to get off- so I let him do it again with Yisrael- he laughed the whole time....they ended going on it THREE times!

As we were about to leave, Yisrael saw the bumper boats- and he did not want to leave without getting a chance! The boats were in a big pool of water, with paddles that you turn with your hands. It took Yisrael a few minutes to figure out how to maneuver the boat, but once he did, he was moving in all directions! He ended up getting soaked because the water splashes into the boat...he was thrilled!

All in all, we had a really nice time!

Savta's Chena: a real cultural experience!

For those of you who haven't heard, our Savta (Bentzi's mother) remarried a few weeks ago. She and Saba Yosef (Cattan) came to visit shortly after the wedding, and her family here decided to make a Chena for her.

A Chena is a Yemenite tradition which is normally celebrated before the Chasuna. It is a special ceremony where the Kallah is adorned with special clothes, jewelry and herbs- each thing she wears is symbolic (my kids were a little scared when they saw their Savta all dressed up...they couldn't recognize her!) The Chasan is also dressed up, but not as elaborately. The actual ceremony involves smearing a paste made of ground Henna onto the hands of the Chassan and Kallah- I think in the 'olden days' they used to do fancy decorations on the Kallah's hands- but we just smeared it! (To read more about the Chena tradition, click here)

I have never attended a Chena before - to the suprise/horror of all Bentzi's Yemenite cousins- and I must say it was QUITE an experience! They had someone saying poems and tefillos in Yemenite and then translating into Hebrew- it was very moving. And of course all the woman were doing the "lalalala" noises, and the Yemenite music was quite wild!