My Home in Israel

After watching this video, I had flashbacks to my trip to the US when I was pregnant (8 months) with my little girl.

The big girl and I were flying back alone–Hubby was staying in the US to work for a few months, and we had just visited family. Our first flight from Milwaukee to New York went fine, but the second flight to Israel wasn’t leaving until 11PM. I couldn’t get the big girl (3 years old) to take a nap or sleep in the airport, so by the time she got on the plane she was exhausted. She fell asleep before they even served dinner. After about 1-2 hours, she “woke up” and started crying. I realized pretty quickly that she wasn’t really awake, and that this was a night terror, which we had just recently started experiencing. For her, these were primarily caused by being overtired.

I picked her up (remember…8 months pregnant….) and hauled her to the back of the plane (kitchen). She sat on the floor screaming, and any question I asked her she just said no. Her eyes were open, but she really wasn’t responding. After nearly 45 minutes, she started saying “pee pee, pee pee” which let me know she had woken up. We went to the potty, got her a granola bar to eat, and she slept the rest of the flight.

Luckily, other than a flight attendant telling me that she was awake (which she wasn’t) nobody threatened me or gave me a hard time on the plane.

UPDATE: Although this is for home and not on planes, here is a good list of the top ten things to do when your child has a tantrum.

Why would someone want a French Manicure with green tips?

Is throwing a tissue out a bus window really acceptable?

Putting chocolate milk from your “*sakit choco” on your **lechmanyah is really gross.

*Chocolate milk in a plastic bag

** A roll…kind of like a hotdog bun.

To the man whose digital watch timed how long I could be quiet in math class:

Both of my girls are just like me…….please send earplugs!

I know that I owe a post about our move, but other things are popping up left and right. Seeing that our Big Girl is turning six this month, we have been thrust into the selection process for first grade. You would think, she is only six–what kind of process could their be? Well, this is the advantage and dis-advantage of being in Israel. If we were still in Milwaukee, there would be fewer options (on second thought, that isn’t true–but the options would be less appealing.) but the process here isn’t so easy.

Here are the choices:
1. Religious Public School, mixed sex, average of 35 children per class, 3 first grade classes, located in our neighborhood.
2. Religious Semi-Public School, separate sex, 25 children per class, only one first grade class, located 3 blocks from neighborhood school–kids from all over city, only been in existence as girl’s school for 4 years (boys is much older).
3. Religious Semi-Public Girls School, about 25 children per class, not near our home–transportation issues.
4. Religious Semi-Public School, boys & girls not allowed to look at each other, parents must follow dress code….

Obviously there are more things about each school, and it has come down to #1 and #2.

The issue with #2 was the three hour interview. Well, actually I didn’t know it was happening, so I don’t know what to say. Two days before their open house, I happened to talk to a mother who has a child at that school, and she told me that Tuesday was the open house…be there at 4:30 with your child and a passport picture. The big girl and I went straight from childcare to the meeting in the pouring rain. The parents went downstairs to listen to the Principal and Assistant Principal speak, and the girls were herded upstairs. At 7:15 when she finished, I found out that they had been having “testing”–math, art, music etc… She had a good time, but since there were more than 50 girls going for 25 spots–and siblings are guaranteed a place, I didn’t expect any miracles.

But yes, you can guess the ending—this week we received a letter from school #2 saying that in the next week we need to go to the school and sign up for automatic withdrawal of funds if we want to send our daughter to this school.

I’m proud that the big girl is smart enough to get in, and I think it will be a good place for her, but there are still some issues….what is she loosing out by not being in the neighborhood school? will her friends live too far away? many of her current classmates will be at the neighborhood school–how much work will we be doing to maintain those friendships?

Just a note: we did check out the neighborhood school, and it does look good. I wouldn’t have felt bad sending her there, but it is nice to have the opportunity to send her to a smaller school.

Sometimes you find a blogger that you just like for one area, and then you realise that they have other facets to their writing which also speak to you.

Flea is a pediatrician in the Northeast US who has been very enjoyable to read and helped me realize what makes a good doctor.

He is also Jewish and has posted an interesting post on the Holocaust and Holocaust education.

Take a look…

(picture stolen from eBay)

Today we went on a little shopping trip to get the big girl a new pair of shoes (sneakers). Her old ones were looking rather ratty, and I have been holding off for a while. The sun was shining, so I didn’t have an excuse to avoid walking over to Talpiot.

The saleslady at my favorite shoe store was in top form. She had us in and out in less than 15 minutes, and even promised that these shoes will last until she outgrows them, and her little sister will even be able to wear them. (I’ll believe it when I see it.)

At the next store the laces came untied and I had to tie them for her. While I said she would need to learn how to tie her own shoes before first grade (next year). She said to me “I need to go to “Ripui B’Isuk” (Occupational Thearapy) to learn how to tie my shoelaces. I said what??? And she told me that Dovid* went to Ripui B’Isuk and he knows how to tie his laces.

*name changed to protect the child with poor motor skills