Its raining, its pouring!

Inasmuch as we really need the rain here in Eretz Yisrael, I think a lot of people still have the "Oh no, its raining today" reaction when they look outside the window in the morning and see the rain pouring down.

My kids really get excited when it rains- when they wake up in the morning and see rain, they get so excited (maybe because they get to bring their umbrellas to school?!)

One day last week, when it was raining, Bruria sang "משיב הרוח" (Rebbe Alter's song, in Hebrew) the whole way to gan ON THE TOP OF HER LUNGS. It was cute, but also a bit embarassing!

Today, when I was bringing her home from gan, she started saying "Its so good that Hashem made rain because now all the cucumbers and carrots and tomatoes will grow and they will be so yummy and juicy!"

Good to see that she's got the right attitude!

Cute Quote: Whodunit?

Today I bought a new tray of eggs, but since I didn't have time to put them all away, I put them in the corner of the counter, to deal with them later (Yes, I know, BIG MISTAKE!)

(Scene setting: Mommy is busy feeding Naftali- so she doesn't notice Azriel Shraga pushing a chair next the to the counter, so he can touch the eggs)

(after a few moments)
Azriel Shraga: Mommy, egg came out!
Mommy: (realizing what just happened, she comes to check out the damage) Oh, Azriel Shraga, you broke the egg!
Azriel Shraga: No, Hashem broke it!

Cute Quote: Not enough for me!

We had seminary girls staying with us on Shabbos, and since they were eating with us for Shalosh Seudos, I decided to make a pasta salad. I tried a different recipe (instead of mayo, I used oil and lots of kuzbara- YUM!) but I wasn't sure it would be such a big hit- it's not your regular flavor. Well apparently it was- we finished it down to the last drop!

Anyways, when Yisrael took the last bit of the pasta salad, he said to me:

Yisrael: Mommy, this macaroni salad is so yummy. Next time you make it we shouldn't have guests!
Mommy: Why not?
Yisrael: Because the girls at so much of it and now there's not enough for me!

Cute Quote: ...מתוך שלא לשמה

For the past two weeks, Yisrael had a special מבצע (contest) in his cheder, called "מנוחה כי טוב". Every day he had to bring a special note to his Rebbe, saying what time he went to sleep and if he said קריאת שמע. It was a schoolwide contest, and they are going to have a big raffle and give out prizes to whoever participated.

Well the contest was over on Tuesday- so last night, as I was putting Yisrael to sleep, he said to me "Mommy, today I don't have to say שמע nicely since my מבצע is over!"

So much for מתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה!

Snowflakes?!?!

Yesterday I decided to make snowflakes with the kids (you know, when you cut a big circle from paper, fold it up, then cut out shapes, and then unfold it and it looks like a snowflake) we had a lot of fun making them but they had a hard time understanding WHAT it was that we were making! (this is our 7th winter in E"Y and I think its only snowed twice in all those years- the last time was two years ago, so they don't really remember it) I tried explaining to them that when rain gets frozen, instead of water falling down from the sky, snow comes down- and each piece of snow looks like the snowflakes we just made. I saw that Yisrael and Bruria still looked confused- they thought I meant that huge pieces of snow fell from the sky!

Well even after all my explanations, I still don't think they quite understood exactly what snow is! Azriel Shraga DEFINITELY didn't- he told me that he wanted to make another cornflake!

(It's funny that both Bentzi and I come from places where there was alwayas TONS of snow growing up, and yet our kids have no idea what it is! (just one of the many differences between our childhood and theirs!) - I guess the only way to really get them to understand what snow is is to have them experience it- B"H its been nice and rainy the past day, but not cold enough for snow...)

Shabbos is coming, we're so happy!

My kids are very good at keeping track of where we are holding in the week- Shabbos of course, is the climax, and as it approaches, the excitement builds up.

Well apparently even Azriel Shraga picked up on it- because this morning (Erev Shabbos) as soon as he woke up, the first words out of his mouth were "Mommy, I want help get ready Shabbos Kodesh!"

No one had told him that it was יום ששי (as we refer to the days of the week) but I guess he's started keeping track too!

Be"h my children should always appreciate the beauty of Shabbos, and they should always look forward to Shabbos with the excitement and anticipation that they have now! (and even more!)

Hazardous to your health

Unfortunately, smoking is a big problem in Israel. Its is very prevalent, even among Chareidi society. So we are doing our best to educate our children from a young age that smoking is dangerous and that it can make a person get very sick, and that it could even make a person die.

Well it seems like Yisrael not only got our message, but is giving it over to other people as well- namely, his Rebbe (YIKES!), who is a smoker! Today he told me that he told Rebbe Shea that if he smokes he could be "met" (die), but, as Yisrael claims, Rebbe Shea told him that Chassidim can't die from smoking (I don't know what the Rebbe really did answer him, but somehow I don't think he said that!)

So after my first reaction of horror that Yisrael is mussaring out his Rebbe, I told him that smoking doesn't always make a person die, but it can make them very sick. And I quickly added that we don't want Rebbe Shea to be sick because he's a really nice Rebbe.

But as soon as I finished, I regretted saying that, because I knew what Yisrael's next sentence would be: "But its okay if Rebbe Shoolem gets sick from cigariot because he's not a nice Rebbe" (Rebbe Shoolem is his assistant Rebbe, who apparently did not hit it off very well with Yisrael)

So a piece of advice to all of you out there- not only should you say no to smoking, but make sure to stay off of Yisrael's hit list!

Cute Quote: Playing Sick

Its funny how kids know how to play sick to get what they want. Ususally its bigger kids trying to get out of going to school, but even Azriel Shraga has learned the skill.

A few weeks ago he was sick (nothing major, just a virus) but he was having a hard time sleeping so I let him sleep with my in my bed. Well since then, every night at around 4 AM he wakes up and comes to my room- and we have the following exchange:

Azriel Shraga: I SO sick! (as he begins to climb in bed with me)
Mommy: No, Azriel Shraga, B"H you are healthy now (as I wearily climb out of bed to bring his back to his room)
Azriel Shraga: No Mommy, (fake cough) I sick!

Naftali has a ponytail!

Naftali's hair has gotten long enough that he needs a ponytail!

(This ain't nothing compared to his cousin Chana's pigtails!)

My Chassidishe son...Shtreimel and all!

Here's Yisrael, wearing a shtreimel he made out of clics (he got the idea from a kid we saw outside on Shabbos, on our way home from the park):

(of course its impossible to get him to smile normally...
this is the best shot I could get!)