Spring, sort of...

Well, apparently I began this blog a few weeks ago and then promptly got busy and forgot about it. Most is still relevant.

But first, Purim:

I present you, with my super original, amazing Purim costumes.  I worked both days of Purim (I work in Jerusalem where they celebrate a day after the rest of the country) so I could not do a full dress up.

In case my label is not clear - I am an Olah Chadasha, aka, New Immigrant.  Everyone got a laugh out of this at work.

Putting my unicorn cake decoration to good use

That unicorn horn was a perfect work costume.  Until I had to don sterile gear and I went to put on the sterile cap and hit the horn.  Oops.  So for the last hour of my shift, no unicorn.


Spring:

Spring is in the air here in Israel. (Okay, it is currently a huge rainstorm, but it has been in the air off and on).  While the winter here is nothing at all like the first 30++ winters of my life, it does get sort of cold here. Mostly it gets cold inside of the houses because they are not very well insulated. If it isn't raining then it is it usually warmer outside than it is inside.  I would say that I have worn my sandals for at least half of the winter, despite my coworkers constantly asking if I'm freezing. I mean, at work I wear sneakers so it's just to and from work. But like any group of Jewish mothers, we worry about everyone. I have occasionally even worn boots but I'm excited for sandal season to come back.  Also, my sandals fit more easily into my work locker than my boots.  Let us be realistic here.



One of the best parts about the winter here is the rain. Because rain means flowers. There are wild flowers growing everywhere and we finally even took a little hike through one of the local trails to see all of the flowers.  Obviously we took the dog because we need her to protect us from the local hyena that runs through town.  Or just because she likes little hikes.  You be the judge.

Kids and Trips:

I think I mentioned last time about my kids and their never ending school and scout trips. Last week (well, now, last month) child #4 had his overnight annual class trip. They went hiking and camping in some sort of giant communal tent. The boys organized a BBQ for themselves and delegated what each boy needed to bring.  Mine was in charge of the charcoal. So off he went to school with a hiking backpack, an overnight bag and a bag of charcoal. Obviously.  Apparently his sisters did assist him on the bus.

This trip was followed a few days later by a Yom Kef, AKA day of fun for this same child with his Beit Midrash class. Basically he has one class this year where the boys could choose which class to join. Hebrew literature, something I don't recall, or extra Torah study. Mine chose the latter. So his class went to the local pool and of course, then had another BBQ. And they went to a concert of some sort?  I really cannot keep up with these busy kids.

But wait, there's more. A few days later he went on a trip with his photography class.  They left our town at 10pm or so to drive way up North to go bird watching and take photos. He returned home the next day in the late afternoon.

What a life these kids have here!!

And just so the others don't feel left out, my girls had a sports competition and a trip to Old Yaffo and Tel Aviv during this time.  And my older son's class had a few trips to help them prepare for their upcoming trip to Poland.

And, as if all of these trips were not enough, I occasionally try and take the kids out for something fun.  It can be hard to coordinate between their school/activity schedule and my unusual work schedule but we try.

Which meant that last week I spent a day with one daughter, doing her favorite things. Going to aroma for hot chocolate and a cookies. Why do I say a cookies?? Because the sign next to the cookies in aroma says cookies in Hebrew letters. And that refers to one cookie. Because after ordering, they asked if she wanted her one cookies heated up.  Then we headed back home to watch Aquaman . And then topped off the day with her #1 favorite food, hamburgers from her favorite place, appropriately called, Beef.

In the same week I also managed a day with the other daughter.  This day consisted of shopping. She has been saving her money to buy herself the official shoes of Israel, Blundstones so off we went. Two stores later she had made her purchases.  Then off to the fancy baking shops to browse and get a few things for Purim, and the art shop to get glitter because how can a teenage girl survive without glitter? Then off to the mall to look at more shoes, which didn't work out. But we did manage pastries and coffee and only made one Hebrew blunder which is quite the success. And finally back home to snuggle with the dog and order a veggie burger also from Beef , because apparently they make the best one.

I have yet to manage a day for each boy but that is in the works. In the meantime, yesterday I picked them both up at school and took them out for ice cream.  So being a nurse and working odd hours does have it's perks.

Work:

As many of you saw on Facebook, I was asked to present something at the last staff meeting. Now, I may have taken a semester of public speaking in 1996 in high school and I think I even got an A. But that in no way means that I enjoy public speaking, or public speaking in front of work colleagues, or public speaking in Hebrew, on a small stage. I'd say the highlight was when I got through it and only one person argued about it. That might be a record at our staff meetings.  While it went better than I thought it would (I pictured myself getting up and forgetting all Hebrew) and I am proud that I did it,  I am hopeful that my boss won't ask me to speak again for a while.

Also at work, I have finished my training in the higher level NICU and I have been set free. It's great and it's terrifying. One thing I love about hospital nursing is that you're never alone and even the hardest day can be made better if you work with good people.  It also doesn't hurt that every time I work on shabbat, (big difference between the USA and Israel) I bring cake. You make more friends when you bring cake.

Dog:

So as you know, we have a tiny fluffball of a dog. She is under 10lbs and will attack you until you rub her belly. Basically her biggest skill is licking someone too much. Oh, but she also has a weird habit of eating bugs. Like she is part lizard. So imagine my surprise when I was working in the office and I hear a commotion in the living room which is attached. One daughter is screaming, "a bird flew in and Goldie is going to kill it."

Why yes, the only child home was the vegetarian child who was about to witness my dog kill and eat a pigeon. I have enough teenage drama (I have four teenagers) in this house without having to deal with my child witnessing what was about to go down .

What does one do in such a situation? Well, I grabbed the only thing around which was a magazine, and I opened the back sliding door wider. I used the magazine to smack the dog away while also using it to shove the bird outside. Success!!!! Which magazine saved us, you might ask? Why, it was Bloomberg Business Week.  I always say, my husband works for the best company. Who knew their magazine both contained good articles and can save you in an emergency.


Scouts/Tzofim:

And finally, the big tzofim event of the year  -PESTI.  Why do they call it that?  No clue.  I thought it was FESTI our first year here, like festival, but no, it's pesti.  They spend a month or more preparing songs and cheers and videos, etc... and then on a Saturday night we all go and watch the competition.  This year our eldest is a counselor for the youngest age group.  He is like a tall tree among the tiny kids.

Our girls are training to be counselors, so they run the pesti with the help of their counselors.

And our youngest is in a regular group, competing for the win.  I shall save you the anticipation.  His group won.  No doubt due to his mad dance skills.

Final Note:

While most if my posts are mostly about the fun stuff we do here, I cannot end the blog (because of course it got delayed another week or so while I was busy with life) without mentioning what has been happening here.  In the past week or two, not only has there still been the perpetual violence around Gaza but now several rockets have been launched into Tel Aviv and into a town north of Tel Aviv.  Hamas claims these went off by accident because of rain storms.  But they were obviously pointed and ready to go.  We all hope that the situation does not escalate and actual peace can reign.


As usual, Israelis seem to take everything in stride and immediately start coming out with memes to lighten the situation.

Dear Hamas. Please share with us how you found an open field in Tel Aviv.  We cannot even find a parking spot there.