Cute Quote: I don't want to go to sleep!

One afternoon, Nissim took a late nap, so he wasn't at all interested in going to sleep at his regular bedtime. Also not when it was his older siblings' bedtime (which is always later than its supposed to be!)  He was too busy 'reading' a pile of books on the couch, fiddling with my cell phone, and looking for snacks to eat.  When my bedtime was approaching, I finally decided it was time to get him in bed.

(this conversation took place in Hebrew, as Nissim's speech therapist suggested that we stick to one language to help his speech develop, which B"H it has)

Mommy: ... נסים, עכשיו צריכים ללכת
Nissim: !באוטו
Mommy: ...לא, מתוק, האוטו לא פה עכשיו.  צריכים ללכת
Nissim (with his eyes all lit up, not missing a beat): !אוטובוס

(Editor's note: buses are SO much more fun than cars, especially if you own a car so a bus ride is a rare treat!)

I had a good laugh (along with Yael Chava Berlinger, who was visiting with us for a few days) and finally convinced Nissim that we were not going anywhere else except for his bed.  He B"H complied, albeit begrudgingly.

Feeling Green

When I was in high school, my friends and I were all into chatchkes with Anne Geddes' photography- for the unfamiliar, she photographed babies and young children in all sorts of cute poses, and sometimes she'd take a photo where the whole picture was black and white, except for the flower the baby was holding or the hat on their head.

I've always thought it would be cute to take a picture like that of one of my own kids (who are WAY cuter than the kids in her photos, IMHO), and I think my camera actually has that capability, but have I never had the time to read the manual and play around with it.  So Hillel decided to give me a chance for a pretty good shot, involving no special camera tricks.

It probably would have been cuter if he would have JUST gotten his lips green, and not his belly...oh well, one day we'll have to give him a lesson about cute photography techniques

Lag B'Omer in the Park

Our Lag B'Omer was nowhere as exciting as last year, but we did manage to have a nice family outing anyways.  It was a bit of a busy day since Nissim had (very minor) surgery to have tubes put in his ears that morning (I didn't realize when they scheduled it that it fell out on Lag B'Omer, and by the time I did, I didn't want to reschedule it and have to wait another few months!).  B"H it went smoothly (you can see from the pictures below that he looks quite fine!) and after we got home and he rested a bit, I took all the kids out to one of the parks in Giva B that we don't go to that often.  I picked up some bread and deli, and we had a nice afternoon and supper in the park.  (And for a change, I actually remembered to take my camera, and the batteries were actually charged, so I have pictures to share!)

(I didn't get many pictures of the big kids, who were eagerly climbing up to the huge slides, while I was busy watching Nissim and the babies, who were B"H busy running in all directions!)

Cute Quote: Too Yummy?!

Recently, my kids' favorite chicken dish is "mushroom chicken".  I'll have to post the recipe on the The Kosher Cookster one of these days because it really is a big hit.

Anyways, getting back to the point of this post, one Friday night Azriel came into the kitchen to help me serve.  When he saw the chicken, he started to complain!

Azriel: I don't want that chicken!
Mommy: Why not?  You love it!
Azriel: I know, its so yummy that I eat too much and then I get a stomachache!
Mommy: So then don't eat so much!
Azriel: But its too yummy, I have to!  If I start to eat it, I'm not going to be able to stop!

Yoish, looks like we're going to have to work on self control around here :)

Creak, Creak!

This blog has become a diary of sorts, and I enjoy looking back at all the fond memories.  I often sit down and read old posts, and love to re-live the old memories, whether touching, funny, or downright crazy.  Little comments or incidents that I would have otherwise forgotten completely, are recorded here, so that I can look back in years to come.  So I'm going to share this funny story with you, more for my own benefit- so I won't forget it!

One day, Bentzi noticed that when he walked, he often heard a strange creaking sound.  First he thought it was from his shoe, (no floorboards here in E"Y so we didn't think it was that) but when he was wearing his Crocs, it still happened.  Strange indeed.  So then Bentzi thought maybe its coming from his knee.  But after listening closely for a day or two, he determined that it was coming from his ankle.

Of course, in typical Jewish mother (wife?) fashion, I began to worry.  Which type of doctor should he see? What terrible illness or condition could Bentzi have?  I began to read all sorts of scary articles online, about athritis and other terrible diseases and conditions, and began to worry about my poor husband, already beginning to age while still in the prime of his life.  The fears and questions began to plague me: what will he be like when he's older, if he's already having problems now?  How will we treat this?  Oy, Hashem, please make it go away!

I continued researching online, hoping that I'd find some comforting article, to allay my fears.  I came accross an interesting forum, where people were discussing how their feat squeak.  One after the next, all with the same problem, but no one seemed to find any treatment or solution.  I was about to give up on reading the thread, when at post #13 I had not one piece of helpful info.  But I kept reading on, and at post #16, I read the following:

I quickly called Bentzi over, and asked him to take off his belt and go for a walk.  Guess what?  No creaking!  Then I told him to put it back on...yes, you got it- the creaking came right back!  I had a major laughing fit, releasing my worries about Bentzi's "condition" and marveling at the ridiculous reason behind it! 

For days afterward, we both felt a tremendous sense of relief and הכרת הטוב that it turned out to be nothing.  That Shabbos, Bentzi shared the story with the kids, and even demonstrated by changing belts- and made sure to drive home the message of appreciating our health and being gratful to the רבש"ע  for our bodies.

May we all be healthy and be able to use our bodies to serve Hashem, for many many years to come!

Azriel Shraga's מסיבת סידור

Actual Date: 3/4/2013

After posting the pictures from Naftali's מסיבת סידור, I realized that I never posted the ones from Azriel Shraga's מסיבת סידור last year!  I actually had a started post sitting in my drafts folder, but for some reason it never posted!  Well, as the saying goes, better late than never!

B"H my Azriel Shraga is growing up!  Today was his מסיבת סידור at the Kosel.  Since its already close to Pesach, and most Mommies are busy preparing for Pesach, the cheder sent home a very considerate note, saying that the mothers weren't expected to attend.  A friend of mine (who is going to America for Pesach) did go, and she took some pictures of Azriel Shraga for me- she's got a really expsensive professional camera, and the pictures came out really beautiful!

Azriel Shraga came home very happy, and was excited to tell me about his special day- how he had fun (AKA made trouble) on the bus ride to the Kosel, how his Rebbe gave out Pekelach, how he davened to Hashem, and how he smiled nicely so Elazar's Mommy could take a picture of him!  At home, we celebrated this special milestone as well, by singing, dancing, and (of course!) giving out candies!

May we continue to shep much נחת from Azriel Shraga as he continues to grow and reach important milestones! 

Naftali's מסיבת סידור

Actual Date: 3/5/2014

Its funny that even though Naftali is my third son KA"H to have a מסיבת סידור, I've never attended one.  With Yisrael and Azriel Shraga, they got their siddurim in the beginning of ניסן, when all the Mommies were super busy getting ready for Pesach, and the Cheder even sent home letters saying that the mothers should feel no pressure to come.  But this year, since we had an extra אדר, Naftali's מסיבת סידור fell out right in the beginning of אדר שני- no excuse not to come, so I did!

Naftali's excitement for his upcoming מסיבת סידור was mounting by the days.  For the few weeks leading up to it, he continually asked me, "Mommy, are you going to come?" which B"H I was able to answer, "Yes". And the morning of, he was so excited he could barely contain himself!  I sent him off to Cheder, dressed in Shabbos clothes, and told him that IY"H we would see each other soon, at the...

Kosel!  Its really nice how the Cheder makes a really big deal out of it, bringing the boys to the Kosel to use their Siddur for the first time.  And it was so cute to watch the excitement on the boys' faces as they opened up their Siddurim and davened.  The night before, the Rebbe had each boy prepare a note at home, with a short בקשה that they want to daven for at the Kosel.  So after davening, each boy had a chance to walk up to the Kosel, and touch it, and daven their personal tefillah. Afterwards, they joined together in song and dance, dancing in one huge circle right in front of the Kosel.

It was interesting to watch the reactions of all the other people at the Kosel, witnessing this very precious moment.  Some frum men joined them in the singning and dancing, while tourists recorded it with their iPhones.  I think all the bystanders were touched by the scene of such young, innocent boys, with happiness radiating on their faces, as they reach such an important milestone.

May the simcha continue to radiate on Naftali's face, and IY"H he should always feel so excited and priveleged to be able to daven!