My Home in Israel

Me: “Look Muppet Show 3 is out”

Hubby: “Get it”

Me: “Wow, Alice Cooper is in it”

Big Girl (7): “Who is Alice Cooper? Do we know her?”

I’ll admit, I only understand a small percentage of his comics, but this one tickled me. I think being a parent has warped me a bit. You need to read the alt text to appreciate his sense of humor.

Today was the little girl’s birthday party at gan (childcare). Surprisingly enough, it was lots of fun for both her and us. They sang songs, played some cute games, and she enjoyed being the center of attention.

My favorite part of the party was when they sang the song “Meachorie HaHar” (Behind the hill). In the song they sing “one, two, three” (in Hebrew). The teacher got all the kids who spoke different languages (English, Hebrew, French, Danish, German, Arabic) and each one of them said it in their language. It was beautiful. (Note, the teacher taught them the Arabic, nobody in that class speaks Arabic)

This is my second baby sick day. The baby had a fever on Thursday and Friday, and today she has a rash. The doctor says it is probably something viral. While there I mentioned that she has been sticking her whole hand in her mouth…after a little investigation, it appears that my almost 5 month old (who weighs nearly 8 kilo) has a tooth!

So I guess we will the good with the bad.

This is a good one! I agree with most of these selections. I wouldn’t want most of these toys in my house.
Topless Robot - The 8 Classic Toys Parents Classically Hated

The ones we already have are the popper, and superballs. (Hubby collects them.)

Other tidbits from the day:

• Little girl got sick on the bus when we were doing a spin around Givat Zev…
• The makeup used for the camouflage is Boaz Stein.
• I’m planning a post about Standing Together. If you have some money to donate, stay tuned!
• Don’t go into a tent that soldiers have been sleeping in for two nights (without a shower). Hubby did that not me.

We had a great Yom HaAtzmaut today! The plan of action was to go with “Standing Together” to do a barbecue (or “mangal” as they say in Hebrew) for soldiers at the Machane Ofer base–not the prison– outside of Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, when we got there, they had already eaten, so we were sent to Givat Zev, where a group of 150 soldiers had set up a show including tanks, camouflage displays, blowing up a car (we missed that) and other exciting exhibits. Apparently there was no food for these soldiers, so we went there and set up our grills.

The soldiers were very appreciative and enjoyed our hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and other supplies.

The girls enjoyed the other fun activities, and the big girl got her face painted with camouflage paint.

Camoflage painting

Originally uploaded by safranit.

We got home at around 4:30 and are now resting from a busy day!

Sometimes I feel like I’ll never really be Israeli…that is something for my kids….but it doesn’t make me any less proud to participate in “Israeli activities” or when I remember to do something (generally for the kids) which is part of the “Israeli Lifecycle.”

The example of the former was this evening when we went to our synagogue’s Yom Hazikaron/Yom HaAtzmaut gathering. After the afternoon prayers (Mincha), they did an “Erev Shira” (sing-along) where they sang songs that are associated with the army. They put the lyrics on an overhead projector (remember those?) and we sang…well I think I knew one or two of the songs, and I knew several of the composers, but it was nice to hear people singing them. I should specify..not just people, but adults…mostly men in their 30s.

After the sing-along, there was an opportunity to talk about how people relate to Israel’s 60th birthday. It feels strange to hear people talking about friends and family they had lost during service in Israel’s army.

The evening ended with a prayer service where we said Hallel. There is a debate in some of the Orthodox Jewish world about the appropriateness of saying it regarding the State of Israel. It was nice to be part of a group where this wasn’t even an issue. I like that my girls will grow up with the reality of Israel. As to whether or not this is the beginning of the redemption, I will leave that to others.

The Israeli Lifecycle part, will be saved for next time…I’m off to watch fireworks on the computer! I can also hear them, but not see them from my apartment.

Apologies go out to the non-Jews, and non Hebrew speakers, but this one was too funny to miss…

We were reviewing the weekly Torah Portion and going over the questions for the week.

Q: What two fibers are forbidden to be combined?

Her A: צמר ופלישתים
(wool and Philistines)

(The correct answer is צמר ופשתן wool and linen)

I guess “plishtim” and “pishtan” are rather close.

A second best question was “Who is it forbidden to curse?”

Her A: A blind man (correct answer a deaf man–blind/deaf what is the difference?)

With the temperatures in the 90’s (Fahrenheit, of course) it looked like today was going to be a wasted vacation day. We went this morning to the mall and bought the girls their summer sandals. (The little girl got just the sparkly ones that she wanted.) We had to take a taxi home because it was too hot to even think of walking.

At around six, we decided to go out to dinner and maybe to see the fireworks in the old city. We walked from Emek Refaim, to the park near the old Train Station. (I don’t know the name…by the windmill.)

Ron left us to go to a concert, and it was already after 7 PM. We could see a bit of the light show on the walls of the old city, but not the fireworks we were waiting for. So, we (me and two girls on foot and the baby in her stroller) started walking back, knowing that the traffic would be a nightmare. About 3/4 of the way down Derech Beit Lechem. the fireworks started. We managed to see most of it without having to hear the loud booms that go with fireworks. The girls loved it!

They walked all the way back to the intersection by the Tayelet, where we caught the bus. I was so proud of my girls. Normally evenings and walking make at least the littler one grumpy, but I had no complaints.

We got home, and they went straight to bed. How lovely.

Note: I apologize for the lack of explanation of locations. Lets just say they did a large amount of walking for little girls (in brand new sandals).