My wise friend Elisa calls the first year in Israel the "Sabbatical year" for children. What with all the new things being thrust at them every day, it's natural to sort of ease up on the home front expectations. To that end, the kids have not had a lot of responsibility at home this past year and have sort of come to see Michael and me as their personal wait staff. With moving again, I was sort of inclined to extend the Sabbatical season a bit but when they started giving us 3's and 4's on the comment cards I realized that perhaps things had gone a bit too far. So now we are giving them chores and added duties at home. They of course are thrilled with the new management. Recent exchange:
Child: I need water.
Me: OK. You know where the cups are so you can get your own water.
Child: Do I have to do everything around here?
And my personal favorite from a child: (frustrated tone) "Really you guys, I just finished vacuuming." It's almost too much fun. Plus, not that I am in anyway insulting their abilities but they're currently making plans to market their "cleaning crew" to the neighbors and while I grant that people often grumble about the availability of a good cleaner, I don't think they are yet up to the challenge.
After some of their household duties were done we went to a pottery painting place nearby. It's a worthwhile outing because it keeps the kids occupied for a good 10 minutes. Throw in the 10 minutes there and back and you have a solid 30 minute activity. Seriously though, it was fun. A woman stopped to admire the frog N was painting and she told him he might become a famous painter. He replied that it was actually his dream to become the goalie for Liverpool. Wouldn't you know? She was from Liverpool. It was great. As we were leaving he gave her his name so she could watch for him in 10 years. Savta Joanie always loves taking the kids to paint pottery and now that we live so close to one, you can take them next time you're here Joan.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch Lital ripped a sleeve on her dress but assured me that she could fix it because "Bubbie taught me how to sew." Well it looks like she needs a reminder tutorial from Bubbie but I figured that if I can suture in the ED how different can it be? So I fixed the dress but Bubbie, the kids have been asking when you are coming to visit. They want their apple slices, cookies, potato latkes and knishes. OK, I'm the one who wants the knishes but the kids miss their Bubbie so please plan a visit soon! So excited to see my parents, Saba and Savta next week. The kids are excited to show you around and the walking path behind our apartments has around 40+ species of flora and fauna including dad's beloved cacti. We won't have to go far to get the beauty in.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Party like it's 1979
Our first year in Israel has passed. When we landed here July 2012 it was not in our plan to move again but here we are a year later in a new city. Moving this time wasn't nearly as dramatic. Of course the most obvious reason is we didn't have to cross any oceans but putting distance aside, we've been here a year and things have changed. We brought children who speak Hebrew (mind you not like native Israelis--except maybe Ariella) but they can run and play with kids they meet without the barriers they faced last summer. We brought kids who think that bread and chocolate spread is a meal, can give the "wait a second" hand gesture like naturals, drink chocolate milk from a bag and....
Moving into a building with a courtyard has been like a gift from above. Basically, kids from the 4 buildings gather in the evening and play. That breakdown time when you're making dinner and can't handle one more "I'm bored" has been whisked away with the intro of neighborhood play. I can watch them through the kitchen window. Our kids also discovered the apartment intercom. And that's fun. Because of course, why would you walk up a flight of steps if you can just call your mom to let her know every random detail that might enter your head? Buzzzzz. I run to the phone thinking someone has come by only to discover that L or A just wants to let me know they want popsicles, or can I make them popcorn because everyone is eating popcorn, and playing takes just way too much energy for them to come up and place their orders in person (Heaven forfend!)
When I was a kid my mom installed a water fountain on our outdoor spigot to keep us out. Lucky for her--no intercoms at that house.
Meanwhile, we continue our ongoing quest to discover what is wrong with Ariella. You might remember that her pre-K teacher last year was very concerned because A did not speak Hebrew when we arrived. This clearly indicated to her a serious deficiency and she was adamant that we get to the core. Well readers, you will be relieved to hear that after seeing every type of therapist, specialist, and undergoing a series of tests it turns out it was just that she was born in Kansas. Phew. It has been interesting to watch at the different offices because Ariella is like a native Israeli now in many of her mannerisms and her accent, but because she is bilingual there are certain words that she just has not yet come into contact with and it's interesting to watch the development.
It's especially rewarding when we are at the grocery store or pretty much anywhere in public and A starts in with her inquiries. Why did you say it that way ima? (ie the grammatically incorrect way that doesn't make so much sense)
And me. I started at the urgicare. It has been interesting, to say the least. I did my first 4 shifts at the main center in Jerusalem. Most of the patients were extremely understanding that my Hebrew was so poor. One couple became irate and apparently screamed all sorts of insults at me. The poor nurse came in and apologized. "I hope you're not offended." I just chuckled because frankly unless they had given those insults veeeerrrryyyy slooooowly and repeated things a couple of times, I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of understanding what they said. I have started working now in Modiin and changed my opening line to "I'm new to Israel so my Hebrew is only so-so, let's go slow." It's great because I get welcomed to Israel 20 times a night and many wishes of good luck etc. The irony of course is that occasionally an American tourist comes through and they sigh with relief "thank goodness you speak English." ahem.
Another great thing about our new quad (there are actually 2 quads) is that by sheer dumb luck we seem to have ended up in a great spot for adults. First, we were invited to a Kiddush by one of our neighbors. Never having been to one we weren't entirely sure what to expect. Basically this is a time--after services, but before lunch on Shabbat morning to have a couple of drinks, some cake and socialize without a full lunch. Kind of like meeting someone for coffee instead of dinner. Of course this only works in places like Israel where the "late" minyan finishes at 10:45. Anyway, we have now been to two Kiddushes and they are fantastic. We also got invited to a wine and cheese/karaoke party last week. Like an old fashioned block party. It was really fun though making small talk in Hebrew was a bit challenging for me and I don't think my wittiness improved with the Chardonnay. I'm sure neighbors were impressed with comments like "I am Eliana. I live building 6. We are new. We like here. Is fun." Sounds like these block parties happen every few months so hopefully after a few months at the urgicare I can at least say "How long have you had that rash? Is it itchy? Have you had a high fever?" "How long have you had blood in your stool?"
Another favorite cultural phenomenon is that Nehemiah has fallen in with a group of boys this age who made aliyah at sometime in their life (usually earlier), and as a result, these children are in a time warp. Instead of talking about whoever is the newest-hottest-hippest band in 2013, these kids will have conversations like this real-life exemplar:
Kid 1: "Keith Moon is the greatest drummer ever. The Who rocks. But the Boss is the best. I love Born to Run."
Kid 2: "I'm more into Rush, myself."
And people say that parents have no influence over their children . . .
Thursday, June 27, 2013
View from the hills
I am back from a month in OPKS, and what a month it was. It was really nice to spend time with my family and to see friends and co-workers. Plus I'm a sucker for paved parking lots :)
It is so great to be back home again, except--- home is in a different city, Modi'in! Yes, my gem of a husband not only flew solo with 3 kids for a month but moved to a new city. I know. I'm lucky. I didn't have to be there for the move! (Just kidding, Michael!)
I've already learned a few things since living in Modiin:
1. There is indeed "Shredded Wheat" in Israel. Hooray. But at $8/box it's more of a luxury item than a wholesome breakfast cereal. Make sure to savor every bite.
2. We need gas masks. No one mentioned it in the previous 11 months but during the move a friend mentioned it to Michael. Now we have them but it is illegal to open them unless we are instructed to do so in a real emergency, so we need to watch the video in advance to make sure we know how to use them (which of course I hope we never do!)
3. Deer-shaped bush sculptures are really cool.
We are looking forward to settling in. We've met loads of great people and tons and tons of olim (the reported number is that 50% of our neighborhood is Anglo). We moved into a quad of apartments (think courtyards from Yale, Oxford, Harvard, etc., but without the distinctive architecture) which is dati (religiously observant) and almost exclusively Israeli. We've been told it is called the "kibbutz" because neighbors are so friendly and take care of each other. Since they all met Michael a few weeks before I arrived, I think they were relieved to see that I did actually exist. I think they also assumed that my Hebrew was as good as his and I've held my own (though this morning I think I told a woman that the children's school had closed as opposed to saying that the kids were finishing the school year in our old town---but I'm sure she got the basic idea).
Meanwhile as our first year rapidly approaches the kids are changing by the day. Ariella is a little chatterbox who is trying to teach me Israeli songs and cheers. I start in the urgi-care next week and have contemplated taking her along as my translator but that likely wouldn't go over too well as she is easily distracted.
Lital has lost several teeth, grown several inches and though her spoken Hebrew is still growing daily her understanding of Hebrew is tremendous. We were recently at an event and she told us what they had announced through the loudspeaker--even Michael couldn't make it out.
And N is happier than a pig in sh*t. He has started using the word sh*t and when I asked him about it, he replied "I'm Israeli and sh*t here isn't a bad word--it's like 'darn' in America. I don't think I could ever go back to America now or I'd have to stop using it." So we can question and contemplate what makes a word bad in one place and not somewhere else but yes folks, it took a curse word to trump all the Johnson County luxuries that had previously been calling his name.
In other exciting news, N's baseball team won the junior league championship last week. Driving to the game we passed through a town with bookshelves at the bus stop. One of the kids remarked that "only in Israel would you find sefarim (scholarly religious books) at the bus stop." :) Ironically, the team they played against was Modiin.
It is so great to be back home again, except--- home is in a different city, Modi'in! Yes, my gem of a husband not only flew solo with 3 kids for a month but moved to a new city. I know. I'm lucky. I didn't have to be there for the move! (Just kidding, Michael!)
I've already learned a few things since living in Modiin:
1. There is indeed "Shredded Wheat" in Israel. Hooray. But at $8/box it's more of a luxury item than a wholesome breakfast cereal. Make sure to savor every bite.
2. We need gas masks. No one mentioned it in the previous 11 months but during the move a friend mentioned it to Michael. Now we have them but it is illegal to open them unless we are instructed to do so in a real emergency, so we need to watch the video in advance to make sure we know how to use them (which of course I hope we never do!)
3. Deer-shaped bush sculptures are really cool.
We are looking forward to settling in. We've met loads of great people and tons and tons of olim (the reported number is that 50% of our neighborhood is Anglo). We moved into a quad of apartments (think courtyards from Yale, Oxford, Harvard, etc., but without the distinctive architecture) which is dati (religiously observant) and almost exclusively Israeli. We've been told it is called the "kibbutz" because neighbors are so friendly and take care of each other. Since they all met Michael a few weeks before I arrived, I think they were relieved to see that I did actually exist. I think they also assumed that my Hebrew was as good as his and I've held my own (though this morning I think I told a woman that the children's school had closed as opposed to saying that the kids were finishing the school year in our old town---but I'm sure she got the basic idea).
Meanwhile as our first year rapidly approaches the kids are changing by the day. Ariella is a little chatterbox who is trying to teach me Israeli songs and cheers. I start in the urgi-care next week and have contemplated taking her along as my translator but that likely wouldn't go over too well as she is easily distracted.
Lital has lost several teeth, grown several inches and though her spoken Hebrew is still growing daily her understanding of Hebrew is tremendous. We were recently at an event and she told us what they had announced through the loudspeaker--even Michael couldn't make it out.
And N is happier than a pig in sh*t. He has started using the word sh*t and when I asked him about it, he replied "I'm Israeli and sh*t here isn't a bad word--it's like 'darn' in America. I don't think I could ever go back to America now or I'd have to stop using it." So we can question and contemplate what makes a word bad in one place and not somewhere else but yes folks, it took a curse word to trump all the Johnson County luxuries that had previously been calling his name.
In other exciting news, N's baseball team won the junior league championship last week. Driving to the game we passed through a town with bookshelves at the bus stop. One of the kids remarked that "only in Israel would you find sefarim (scholarly religious books) at the bus stop." :) Ironically, the team they played against was Modiin.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Made in China
I don't think 11 months is a long enough time to be away that you are considered a foreigner in your own country and yet there I stood on a Friday afternoon, like a stranger from far away. Since I work every night except for Friday nights, I use Friday afternoon as my day to buy things that I want to bring back to Israel. I was somewhat sleep deprived and left my sunglasses on when I went into Target. My regular glasses were in the car and well, I wasn't going to go "all the way back" to the car to get them. I saw a dress hanging on the clearance rack that was very cute but didn't have any particular clearance sticker so I asked a worker to price check it for me.
She looked at the tag, looked at me and in heavily accented English replied "twenty seven ninety nine miss". I can read, so I tried explaining the whole "it was hanging on the rack so I was wondering if it was on sale" thing but she just repeated "twenty seven ninety nine". It's likely she thought I was stoned. And I suppose I was sort of under the influence. The heady intoxication that can only come from buying cheap goods made in China. I don't know why but the cheap goods from China that you buy in Israel are sort of expensive and yet of an inferior quality. If there are any readers out there who can explain it to me, I'd love to know why that is. Either way, I'll be hauling my 40lbs of goodies back with me next week when I head back to Israel.
She looked at the tag, looked at me and in heavily accented English replied "twenty seven ninety nine miss". I can read, so I tried explaining the whole "it was hanging on the rack so I was wondering if it was on sale" thing but she just repeated "twenty seven ninety nine". It's likely she thought I was stoned. And I suppose I was sort of under the influence. The heady intoxication that can only come from buying cheap goods made in China. I don't know why but the cheap goods from China that you buy in Israel are sort of expensive and yet of an inferior quality. If there are any readers out there who can explain it to me, I'd love to know why that is. Either way, I'll be hauling my 40lbs of goodies back with me next week when I head back to Israel.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
How the other half doesn't live
Well it's back to the US of A for me. Headed back to work for a few weeks and spend some time with my dad. If you saw my post about my last flight you will remember that it was rather scary, what with the gasoline fumes, the turning around and landing right after take off etc. Hoping tonight's will be more routine...triple wrapped chicken, movie, pretend to sleep, triple wrapped eggs and land in Philadelphia. With of course crying babies in the background---but hey they're not my crying kids so it's not so bad. Anyway, after my last flight I received an e-mail from US Air letting me know that I had been upgraded to silver preferred. This meant complementary upgrades to first class if there was a seat available and a waiver of one checked bag fee. Wow was I excited. I have been dreaming of my first class experience and at this point even the grocery store clerk knows that I might be flying first class.
Well, ladies and gentleman, don't believe the hype. First class upgrades are only "when available." That means not for flights to Hawaii, Europe, South America or the Middle East. That leaves Asia, Africa and domestic travel available for upgrades. But wait! US Air doesn't seem to fly to Africa, and their only Asian destination is Japan. That leaves Japan and domestic flights. But wait! For flights that are short distances--like halfway across the country from Philadelphia to Kansas City--US AIR uses small planes that do not have first class seating arrangements.
So I guess I won't get to see how the other half lives. But at least I get to bring an extra checked bag free of charge so that I can bring back more things from Target and Costco.
But wait! It turns out, everyone on the international flights gets a free checked bag, and while the small print didn't say these things were mutually exclusive, US Air's very flexible customer service department assured me that they are.
The whole thing kind of reminded me of when Bart and Lisa tried to hire a lawyer on the Simpsons:
http://vimeo.com/52752274
Israelis are not the only ones with bureaucracy, it seems. . .
Switching topics to "family and friends visiting Israel", my Aunt Marlene and Uncle Hyman were visiting in Israel this week and we had the pleasure of joining them for dinner in their hotel. Hyman was a hit, especially with his introducing us to the MLB phone app (for watching major league baseball), and Marlene was very indulgent of our children's multiple entree predilections.
It was kind've funny to be the Israeli family that your American relatives take out for dinner. . .
Well, ladies and gentleman, don't believe the hype. First class upgrades are only "when available." That means not for flights to Hawaii, Europe, South America or the Middle East. That leaves Asia, Africa and domestic travel available for upgrades. But wait! US Air doesn't seem to fly to Africa, and their only Asian destination is Japan. That leaves Japan and domestic flights. But wait! For flights that are short distances--like halfway across the country from Philadelphia to Kansas City--US AIR uses small planes that do not have first class seating arrangements.
So I guess I won't get to see how the other half lives. But at least I get to bring an extra checked bag free of charge so that I can bring back more things from Target and Costco.
But wait! It turns out, everyone on the international flights gets a free checked bag, and while the small print didn't say these things were mutually exclusive, US Air's very flexible customer service department assured me that they are.
The whole thing kind of reminded me of when Bart and Lisa tried to hire a lawyer on the Simpsons:
http://vimeo.com/52752274
Israelis are not the only ones with bureaucracy, it seems. . .
Switching topics to "family and friends visiting Israel", my Aunt Marlene and Uncle Hyman were visiting in Israel this week and we had the pleasure of joining them for dinner in their hotel. Hyman was a hit, especially with his introducing us to the MLB phone app (for watching major league baseball), and Marlene was very indulgent of our children's multiple entree predilections.
It was kind've funny to be the Israeli family that your American relatives take out for dinner. . .
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
"...I will not let you go" (Pharoah's song)
Bring a lot of white shirts. People like to ask for advice for their own upcoming aliyah and I mention this because there is something to celebrate or commemorate or mark in some way that requires your children wearing a white shirt almost every week. Last week all the activity was around Jerusalem day and tomorrow is Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) so A had to wear a white shirt and festive clothes to Gan today. Yesterday as we were walking in, one of her friends made mention to me that she needed to bring a basket to Gan the next day. I gave him a quizzical look. "Ema shel Ariella" (translation: "Ariella's mom"--kids here call you as the mother of your child's name) he went on, "you can't forget the basket." See poor little A probably misses out on some of the goings on in her Gan because they require either a knowledge of how things worked in previous years or a commitment to reading e-mail from the teacher. Now even those of you who are reading in your primary language probably only scan. Reading it in Hebrew things can get lost. The parents don't think to mention these details because what kind of person doesn't know for instance that you are meant to bring a basket to gan the day before Shavuot? So it falls on the kids to bring me up to speed so to speak. I can imagine those little kids "Chaval (oh what a pity), this week she didn't bring the red flower..."
So after the five-year-old gave me the heads-up, I asked the teacher because I was still a bit fuzzy on the details. I left the room thinking I would bring her a yogurt and fruit in a grocery sack. Fortunately, I got another call that night "ema shel Ariella, can she come play?" I love these phone calls because when I'm speaking with the little kids we're all on the same level and they know what it feels like to not be understood so they don't mind repeating or speaking slowly. Anyway, I learned when I dropped her off that it was more a decorated bakset that we were supposed to bring. I'm no historian and I'm not about to get into which tradition came first, but to a girl from Kansas this sounded suspiciously like Easter baskets. I'm sure it's all connected with the first fruits etc. but if I had been given more than a night's notice I could have sent her with a lovely basket. As it is I was able to dig something out of our cupboard and we walked in with our heads held high. All the girls had little flower wreaths on their heads (there's always next year) and since she and her friend had made crowns on the playdate A too had something on her head though a bit more taped-together-construction-paper-than-flowers but she didn't care.
Meanwhile, we are considering getting N a cell phone. Thank goodness he has really fallen in with a nice group of friends and most nights he isn't home. It's constant running and doing and going. I don't want to push my luck but I have also noticed a major drop in comparisons to Kansas or even a mention. Last week when he was speaking with one of his close friends from Kansas, he learned that his friend was moving to Colombia--as in South America. Wow, I said your friend is also moving overseas. N gave me a look and reminded me that there actually was not an ocean separating North and South America. Details.
Back to the subject of Easter bunnies etc. Last week L went with a friend to the local community center to watch a movie. I'll confess I didn't do any screening and the friend's mom told me she thought L understood much of the movie but needed some translation. Turns out the movie was about Santa and the tooth fairy and a group of imaginary characters. Really. We flew all the way to Israel to watch a movie about Santa. Not atypical for living in the U.S., slightly more unexpected for living in Israel. I have a strong suspicion that L was likely the only kid in the theater who knew who many of the characters were. Meanwhile, L lost a tooth last week and she told me "I know there isn't such thing as a tooth fairy, but there are moms. I expect money underneath my pillow when I wake up." Kids these days.
Tonight we head out of town to stay with friends we made through baseball for Shavuot. Really looking forward as I'm sure it will be both a meaningful experience for us and great fun for the kids. With all the Shavuot prep and learning, A has done a great job connecting Passover and Shavuot. And in what I'm sure will become an instant hit in Jewish households across the world she has taken to singing "No, no, no, don't let the dog go."
So after the five-year-old gave me the heads-up, I asked the teacher because I was still a bit fuzzy on the details. I left the room thinking I would bring her a yogurt and fruit in a grocery sack. Fortunately, I got another call that night "ema shel Ariella, can she come play?" I love these phone calls because when I'm speaking with the little kids we're all on the same level and they know what it feels like to not be understood so they don't mind repeating or speaking slowly. Anyway, I learned when I dropped her off that it was more a decorated bakset that we were supposed to bring. I'm no historian and I'm not about to get into which tradition came first, but to a girl from Kansas this sounded suspiciously like Easter baskets. I'm sure it's all connected with the first fruits etc. but if I had been given more than a night's notice I could have sent her with a lovely basket. As it is I was able to dig something out of our cupboard and we walked in with our heads held high. All the girls had little flower wreaths on their heads (there's always next year) and since she and her friend had made crowns on the playdate A too had something on her head though a bit more taped-together-construction-paper-than-flowers but she didn't care.
Meanwhile, we are considering getting N a cell phone. Thank goodness he has really fallen in with a nice group of friends and most nights he isn't home. It's constant running and doing and going. I don't want to push my luck but I have also noticed a major drop in comparisons to Kansas or even a mention. Last week when he was speaking with one of his close friends from Kansas, he learned that his friend was moving to Colombia--as in South America. Wow, I said your friend is also moving overseas. N gave me a look and reminded me that there actually was not an ocean separating North and South America. Details.
Back to the subject of Easter bunnies etc. Last week L went with a friend to the local community center to watch a movie. I'll confess I didn't do any screening and the friend's mom told me she thought L understood much of the movie but needed some translation. Turns out the movie was about Santa and the tooth fairy and a group of imaginary characters. Really. We flew all the way to Israel to watch a movie about Santa. Not atypical for living in the U.S., slightly more unexpected for living in Israel. I have a strong suspicion that L was likely the only kid in the theater who knew who many of the characters were. Meanwhile, L lost a tooth last week and she told me "I know there isn't such thing as a tooth fairy, but there are moms. I expect money underneath my pillow when I wake up." Kids these days.
Tonight we head out of town to stay with friends we made through baseball for Shavuot. Really looking forward as I'm sure it will be both a meaningful experience for us and great fun for the kids. With all the Shavuot prep and learning, A has done a great job connecting Passover and Shavuot. And in what I'm sure will become an instant hit in Jewish households across the world she has taken to singing "No, no, no, don't let the dog go."
Saturday, May 4, 2013
The Right Way to Make Unsafe Choices
I am so excited that my new friend (who feels like an old friend), Gila from aliyahbyaccident.blogspot.co.il mentioned me and my blog in her blog. I have been reading Gila's blog for around two years and she doesn't disappoint. In fact, hers is the only blog I read on a regular basis. Recently, we actually spent a Shabbat with her family and all the different counterparts got along. Isn't it great when that happens. Anyway, I mostly started this blog for my mom and my friend Ilene (who came up with the name for oysandjoys) but if any readers from accident want to join--you are very welcome. I may have just set a world record for using the word blog in a 5 sentence paragraph.
So do other parents ever get the feeling that the message you may be trying to send just isn't getting received? I feel like I try to emphasize safety with my children especially since my career involves dealing with a lot of the aftermath of unsafe choices (generally mixed with alcohol, but still . . .) When Ariella was a baby she used to find tiny little objects in the house, put them in her mouth and then bring them to me and say "choking hazard." You know all the times I had taken something small out of her mouth and warned her about choking hazards somehow got mixed up in her mind. We were never able to fix that one.
Today I discovered Ariella blending two phenomena with which our Israel experience has thus far graced us: Bicycle safety and stone floors.
Well, bicycle safety has always been a big theme for us, and our children, including Ariella, never tire of pointing out the common practice here of bike-riding without helmets.
The stone floor phenomenon is widespread here. The upstairs, downstairs, and the stairs connecting them in our house and in almost every other home we have seen in Israel are made of stone. They are rumored to lack the soft, plushy qualities that many carpets possess (except for the "Grey Banshee" that was our carpet in Kansas for several years.)
I caught Ariella blending these two important themes as she prepared to pillow-surf her way down the stone stairs. Her final preparation: Putting on her bike helmet.
So do other parents ever get the feeling that the message you may be trying to send just isn't getting received? I feel like I try to emphasize safety with my children especially since my career involves dealing with a lot of the aftermath of unsafe choices (generally mixed with alcohol, but still . . .) When Ariella was a baby she used to find tiny little objects in the house, put them in her mouth and then bring them to me and say "choking hazard." You know all the times I had taken something small out of her mouth and warned her about choking hazards somehow got mixed up in her mind. We were never able to fix that one.
Today I discovered Ariella blending two phenomena with which our Israel experience has thus far graced us: Bicycle safety and stone floors.
Well, bicycle safety has always been a big theme for us, and our children, including Ariella, never tire of pointing out the common practice here of bike-riding without helmets.
The stone floor phenomenon is widespread here. The upstairs, downstairs, and the stairs connecting them in our house and in almost every other home we have seen in Israel are made of stone. They are rumored to lack the soft, plushy qualities that many carpets possess (except for the "Grey Banshee" that was our carpet in Kansas for several years.)
I caught Ariella blending these two important themes as she prepared to pillow-surf her way down the stone stairs. Her final preparation: Putting on her bike helmet.
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