Julia's Opera Club Performance: Modi'in

Julia played Devorah in this musical about the Maccabees. She had a pretty large part and she was wonderful! She practiced speaking clearly and loudly and took great care to memorize all her lines and songs. Brenda Alpar, the music teacher, wrote all the songs and lines in the show. I was so impressed.

Here are the words to the song in case you can't make them out from the video:
Come along join in rejoicing up to Jerusalem
We set her free
Sing a song and lift your voices
Cheer in Jerusalem
The Maccabee!
Up and down as we go climbing ever still through the olive groves that turn to silver in the sun
Hear the sound that echoes back and forth across the hills telling all the world that we have won
Yad b'yad, kulanu yachad shiru b'kol echad ANACHNU PO!
shir echad b'kol bokey'a tzion v'yerushalayim he ear echat
(hand in hand, we're all together, singing in one voice, WE ARE HERE!
One song, the voice describing Zion and Jerusalem, she's the city)

Marigold's Third Birthday Party

This party was such fun! Marigold felt like a true princess. When she first saw the cake that I made with my mom she said "Pink! Just perfect for me!". All of her friends from school and playgroup came to celebrate. We decorated treasure boxes and then we had a 'scavenger hunt' in the living room. I arranged this game specifically for 3 year olds--I just placed hanukah gelt and rolls of smarties on shelves and other surfaces and told the kids to find them and put them in their new treasure boxes. It was frustrating for the non-3-year olds to watch this because we wanted the kids to hoarde the candy...but they only took as much as they felt like at the moment. Some kids left with 3 or 4 pieces. It was a very innocent scene.
The cake was pretty special this year. We made it from scratch with a gourmet pound cake recipe. Then we made a sugar icing out of 9 parts confectioners sugar, 1 part egg white, and a couple of drops of glycerin. The doll inside is Gabriella, from the High School Musical series. Libi let Marigold borrow it for the party. My mom helped me with the icing and the design. She also styled Gabriella's hair.
The best part is that Marigold really appreciated it. She is a doll.

New Photos!

Now or Never

Whew, it's over! Today was THE DAY! We celebrated Julia and Libi's birthdays watching High School Musical 3 at the Wayne Movie Theater with about 40 children. The movie was really excellent (no joke, well, except that it was pretty cheesy. But for a cheesy movie it was very high quality). All the kids had fun, the cakes tasted good, a lot of our family was in town to celebrate with us, and we survived!

And then we had 2 other birthday parties to go to today. It's 6pm, we're exhausted and our kids are falling into bed.

In the past month so much has happened. First we had the High Holidays which were very nice this year. We spent the first day of Rosh Hashanah in NY. But Marigold had a high fever so we came home early. Yom Kippur was not too bad; we had meals at friends' houses for Kol Nidre and the Break Fast. The next day we set the alarm for 5am to get ready for our flight to Colorado at 8:20!
Congratulations to Peter and his new wife, Jane, who got married on Oct. 11 in Boulder, CO. We took our whole family there to celebrate with them. Julia's job at the wedding was to pass out programs. Libi and Marigold were flower girls. All three girls wore the dresses that they had from Josh & Blair's wedding and they looked gorgeous! Evie was also a flower girl and Shoshi read a biblical passage at the ceremony. Everyone felt very honored to play a part. Marigold actually fell asleep at the church, but she had a great time that night at the reception! In fact, everyone had a good time and we're very happy for Peter & Jane. Unfortunately the weather in Boulder was awful that weekend so we didn't experience the great outdoor life in Colorado. We ended up visiting one archeological site where there are many actual dinosaur footprints. It was pretty awesome. Later that day we all rock climbed (indoors). Julia, Josh, and I all made it to the top of 2 of the walls (despite my supposed fear of heights!). Libi loved it too and Marigold even tried a little climbing. It was great fun and I'd love to do it again.

So then we came home that Monday evening and Sukkot started that night. We hosted many meals with friends in our Sukkah this year. I really enjoy doing that, even though it's pretty tiring for me. Julia and Libi loved decorating our Sukkah--every year it looks better and more festive. Libi's class came over the next Monday and made fruit faces on challah rolls in our Sukkah. Then they made bracelets from plants and flowers that they found in our garden.
I celebrated Thursday and Friday which were school days!!!
This coming week will be the first full week of school in October. I will savor every moment--I promise you.
I look forward to the Adath Israel Book Fair which starts next Sunday. It will be my 5th year coordinating this book fair (I think next year will be my last). The Fair lasts all week--I have to be there at every shift. Then, it's off to NY for a celebration for my dad's 60th birthday!! We're pretty excited and we've got some great things planned that I can't talk about yet. 2 weeks later it will be Thanksgiving and the cycle of events continues.

In other news, Julia is getting a new teacher. Her english teacher hurt her back in the second week of school and has been out since then. It looks like her injury is worse than we originally thought and she won't be coming back. So, a new teacher starts tomorrow. My heart goes out to the original teacher and I hope she makes a full recovery. But I also hope that Julia gets quickly settled with her new teacher.

Marigold had her first experience as Shabbat Queen and she was so proud.

I'm putting up pictures from 1. Marigold as Shabbat Queen, 2. wedding & other activities in Colorado, 3. HSM Birthday party, and 4. Libi's class in our Sukkah.
Make sure to sign up as followers of this site!

I'm Scared, Please Vote

I got this in an email today, and I saw that Palin had 51% yes, and 48% No. We need to vote in droves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (BTW, I'm voting NO)

"This is just a TINY thing to do, but I believe that every step counts.
It will take you 2 seconds.

PBS has a poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? The Right
Wing has organized a yes vote. Let's turn this around. . . . You don't have to give your name or email address in order to vote. It's very simple.


Here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html


Just click & vote… NOW. "

Josh and Blair's Wedding Weekend

We just returned from NY to celebrate and participate in Josh Klaff & Blair Metrick's beautiful wedding. It was truly a fun weekend filled with family events and beautiful moments. We arrived on Thursday and had a nice dinner with Josh's parents & grandparents at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck (Libi's favorite restaurant). Friday was hectic while we prepared for the Shabbat dinner. My mom hosted dinner for about 50 people, including Blair's parents, sister & family, aunt & family, grandparents, etc...and also Josh's aunt, uncle & cousins from Seattle, his grandmother, and all of my mom's siblings with all their children, spouses, girlfriends...What a bunch!
On Saturday morning I worked out in Stamford while the girls & Josh visited with their 2 cousins in North Salem. (We skipped the Auf-Ruff in Long Island, sorry.) We then went over to Keri's new house in Norwalk. That was great because we got to see how they are starting to put their own touches into the house--it's only been about 2 weeks. Also, our girls got to spend time with Ari & Noam. They just love each other so much. Later that evening we trekked to Long Island for a really nice dinner with all of Josh Klaff's side of the family. Our girls had a sleepover with Shoshie and Evie at Josh (W's) parent's house. Even though all of this was hectic and nonstop, it was wonderful to catch up with all of our cousins, and even my sister and brother too. We had a lot of time to sit and talk, which we usually don't have.
Finally we got ready for the wedding on Sunday evening. It was a long day, and our girls got pretty tired. We waited for the photographer to take all the pictures for about 3 hours. The girls couldn't really eat during that time because they had to keep their beautiful flower-girl dresses clean. The wedding service was lovely! Josh Klaff could not keep his eyes off his beloved. We all tucked into the cocktail hour because we hadn't eaten in about 6 hours! Thank god because dinner wasn't served till 11pm. Crazy timing for those of us with kids, but there was so much excitement that it didn't matter. Once the ballroom opened Julia began dancing like her soul was filling a need. It was incredible. She was feeling the music from deep within her, and she danced for about 2 hours straight. Libi danced as well and she has rythym--just watch the video. Marigold lasted until just before the Hora when she fell asleep on my lap. Luckily there was a small room close by that we could put her in while we enjoyed the rest of the wedding. We left at midnight knowing that our children will be recovering from the sleep deprivation all week long, but also knowing that they all had an incredible time.
We can't wait to hear all about Josh & Blair's honeymoon--but truthfully I don't think there will be many details. I'm sure they are just going to enjoy each other most of the time! It's great to be in love and newly married!

Check out the 2 new albums that I posted today, and comment! I'd love to know who's checking out our blog.

Potty Training Complete

Wahoo! Marigold is as proud of herself as can be. She decided that panties was a good idea about 2 weeks ago. She asked for diapers a couple of times since then, but didn't complain when I said no. And even though she wears diapers at night, she wakes up dry!

Update on Tooth

Went to the dentist today to see what to do about this tooth. He suggested fitting in a post and then reattaching the crown. I really don't want to do this, and told him so. He strongly suggested not losing this tooth. But I strongly want to have it taken out. Comments please.

Did I mention that this tooth has had 3 root canals, and this is the 3rd crown?

Interpret This

You've heard of the dreams where all your teeth fall out and/or disintegrate; that usually means you're feeling out of control in some aspect of your life. Well I haven't had that dream-----I'm living it.

My last molar on the top left side has been giving me trouble my entire adult life. So much so that I've been known to wish I could pull all my teeth out and get dental implants. After 3 root canals and a crown I thought I was done. Wrong! That crown fell out a couple of years ago.

No wait, the story is so much better, I can't leave out the details. I found a dentist right around the corner from our house. He is well known in the community, and a friend of mine even worked for him at the time. Well, that friend quit soon after and I should have followed her. I needed the 3rd root canal on that tooth and saw an excellent endodontist! Unfortunately I had to go back to the regular dentist to have the crown glued on. He convinced me that I had to pay extra for the white crown (even though this is the LAST molar and you can't see it.). When the tooth was delivered it wouldn't fit, so the dentist had to shave off all the white porcelain until it was small enough, leaving a combo of silver and white shavings. Not worth the extra money--and now I had the ugliest tooth ever.
Not 2 months later that tooth fell out. I was so angry. I vowed never to see that dentist again. It took me a long time to recover (from this anger) and finally go to a dentist to replace the crown. Lo and behold, insurance will not pay for a crown on the same tooth within 5 years. It was going to cost me $1100 for this stupid tooth. So Josh called my original dentist and used his lawyerly skills to get them to charge me half (out of pocket), and use a different dentist in the practice. Fine. 2 months ago the new dentist fitted another crown into the space.

Today the crown fell out.

OMG You Guys: New Pictures!!

We have 3 new albums posted!! Check out our best shots from May, June, and July (so far). Subjects include (but are not limited to): New Photos of Noam, Our Day with Ari, Libi's PreK Graduation, Marigold at the Little Gym, Julia's Junior Drama Play, Shoshi's 9th Birthday at Rye Playland, and our 2 Parades on July 4th.

Speaking of July 4th. Marigold spiked a fever of 102 that evening while we were at our friends' bbq. She had an ear infection--we discovered the next day at the Dr--but I actually think she's been teething. Those 2 year old molars are KILLER. We spent the morning at our neighborhood parade and festival, and then the evening at the aforementioned bbq. It would have been great fun but for our sick baby. Still produced great pics though!

Julia spent this past week at Art Camp at Main Line art. She really enjoyed it. Next week there is no camp for Julia (help!). She has 2 days of gymnastics practice, and 1 hour per day at the library learning about DNA. Oh, and Grace is sleeping over on Monday and we have the Ice Cream Social on Tuesday evening, and it's Michal's bday party on Wednesday evening. Hmmm, maybe we won't have so much time to kill.

Libi's really enjoying Friend's Central camp. So many of her school friends go there. She has moved up from the "orange" to "yellow" swimming groups. Now she can jump in the deep end! She also has a great tan! Have I mentioned Libi has the best skin you've ever seen and felt? Well she does.

We're all starting to really prepare for both of the weddings we'll be attending in the Fall! Josh Klaff and Blair's is only 6 weeks away! All 3 of our girls are flower girls, and they are so excited! Josh (Warmund)'s 1st cousin Peter is also getting married soon and he and Jane have also asked our girls to be in their wedding. So there is so much excitement and preparation! We're travelling to Boulder for Peter & Jane. I've never been there, so we're taking 1 extra day after the wedding to sight-see a little.

strange weekend

Julia and Libi spent this weekend at my parents' house in Westchester, NY. They told me they had a lot of fun so far. We still have to pick them up somewhere on the NJ TPK this afternoon. Josh dropped them off on Friday at Exit 9. He did a quick and simple exchange with my mom (or at least it was supposed to be quick & simple). They had Shabbat dinner, went swimming, visited Manor Park, ate sushi on Saturday night, and had lunch with David & Natalie on Sunday in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, Ari had foot & mouth disease this weekend, so they couldn't spend time with him. I definitely hope to repeat these types of visits!!

Here at home it was both strange and very normal. We had a quiet family dinner on Friday night---too quiet. On Saturday, Josh went to shul alone while I dragged Marigold to the babysitting at my gym. Usually we all go to shul, but I took a break this week. Then we all went to the pool in the afternoon. That was the beginning of the very strange feelings! Josh and I both went with Marigold to the baby pool. She asked first if I would be with her and I said yes. Then I said Dad would be there too. And she paused and repeated this information like she couldn't believe it. It was like, "I get both of my parents at the same time??" Poor little third child...We left the pool after an hour with a downpour of rain that ended as quickly as it began. We then spent the evening in Manayunk. This weeked they had a Craft Fair/Artists Bazaar. This was a surprise to us!! Josh started to get stressed out (it's a habit) when we discovered the Fair, probably because he was thinking of all the hassles we'd have to go thru for parking, and walking around, and finding somewhere to eat...But another surprise came our way! There was absolutely no hassle. We found parking easily. Marigold was happy to be in her stroller, and the Thai place we had dinner was lovely. This would NEVER have happened with all 3 children with us!! It almost felt like a date. At the same time I missed Julia and Libi like crazy and I was constantly thinking of them and what they were doing at that moment.
So I think it was a great weekend all around--a treat for Julia & Libi to be with their grandparents, and a treat for Josh and I from the frantic pace of life with 3 children.

Saying Goodbye to Paci

Marigold is beginning the process of saying goodbye to her pacifier--although she doesn't know it yet. Two days ago Josh and I agreed on new rules for the paci: She will only be allowed to have paci's in her crib. If she asks for the paci during the day she can go into her crib for as long as she likes, but she can't walk around with the paci in her mouth. It's amazing! 2 days later she has only asked for it a couple of times. She stands up in her crib, sucks for a couple of seconds and then she's ready to get out! Sometimes she'll absent-mindedly put my fingers into her mouth (a sad replacement for her paci), but she laughs when she realizes what she's done.
Now all we have to do is potty-training and moving to a big girl bed!

WOW!! An Addition to Our Family!!

Welcome to Noam Ben-Zvi!!!!
Keri gave birth to a healthy, maybe red-headed, 8 lb. baby boy today in CT!!
It sounds like the birth went well, and mommy and baby are happy! In fact, Keri called me back like an hour after he was born. INSANITY.
We all can't wait to meet our new bubbela (although Marigold is definitely confused about who is really the baby--she thinks it's her).

And everyone breathe a sigh of relief that the bris is not the same day as Julia's school play!!
We send LOVE to Keri, Lavi, Ari and Noam!! And special Mazel Tovs to Granny & Grampa and Suellyn!

Passover 2008

I cannot believe that a year has passed since last Pesach! So much has occurred around the holiday this year. Julia's school had a Model Seder which was held at our shul. Surprise--I helped organize this event! It was really fun to meet all the volunteers/mothers and fathers from her school. I also got to see how Perelman events operate from the inside. I enjoyed it a lot. Julia was so excited to be a part of it too! Kindergarten thru 5th grades attended and each class sat at their own table/s. Each grade sang a special song, while the 5th grade led the entire seder. Julia's already in awe of the 5th grade and can't wait until it's her turn to host.
Libi's class (the Eagles) had a Passover Workshop with the other Pre-K class (the Jammers). A number of tables were set up with activities at each one (decorate an Elijah's cup, fill a bag of plagues, make haroset...). This was really fun and intimate because it was only 2 classes and their parents that got together. By this point we all know each other pretty well. Most of the kids are also returning next year for Kindergarten which is comforting for the children as well.
Marigold's class had a sing-a-long that I unfortunately had to miss because of a dental emergency...But today she returned to school and came home with a bag of Passover goodies she had made. Too bad the holiday has passed...but she didn't care. She held on tightly to her Baby Moses project the whole time we were at the library this afternoon.
We traveled to NY on Friday for the real seders. My mother hosted 31 people! It was a great seder. One new and fun part was when each person told their own Exodus story--most of the people immigrated to the US in the last 30 years (and some before that). We learned a lot about each other. Our girls had a blast spending time with Ari on Friday and Saturday at the Seder! He had just turned 2 and he's adorable in every way (and of course he's in love with his cousins, just as they love him!). He's about to be a big brother, and he has no clue that his life is really about to change...Our girls also adore Shoshana and Eve!!! They played all night long.

It turns out that Libi, Marigold, Josh and Julia were all sick with fevers, severe allergies, or just regular colds this past week. So our Passover fun was dampered a bit...but we survived! We broke the Passover eating laws on Sunday night with friends at our house. I served pizza and pasta--what else? Now it's back to normal until the end of the school year, I hope! (Please check out our newest album. It has some beautiful photos of our family, and you get to see Keri at 9 months pregnant)

What is there to say...

I have been reprimanded for waiting too long to post news. This actually makes me happy because it means that people are reading my blog! So let's see what's happened in the past couple of months...
Julia has settled very well into her second grade class. Her Hebrew tutoring will soon be over. It only took her 2.5 months to catch up! We had Parent-Teacher conferences today and her teachers really enjoy our sweet little girl. She has a sleepover scheduled for this Saturday night with a new 2nd grade girlfriend! She will be attending 5 birthday parties in March--what a busy life! Gymnastics is still her favorite thing to do and we've been very lucky that sickness hasn't slowed us down this season. (it seemed to completely overtake many of our friends' families.)
Libi can read!!! She has made amazing achievements with sight words, sounding out, and learning new rules (like silent 'e'). It's such a joy to watch this process happen for our child. She is so proud of herself. She'll be starting a new theater class in a couple of weeks because she was getting too old for her "storybook players" class. Libi is such a sweetheart, she melts my heart.
Marigold is just an absolute joy as well! At home she talks up a storm. She tells us about school, her friends, and then other things she thinks about randomly. She has a really great sense of humor and I am always laughing and telling her how funny she is. She often says, "I'm not funny, I'm Marigold Bubbles." Her teachers don't know how big her personality is yet, she is still reserved at school--but I'm sure they'll find out soon. She loves her class at the Little Gym, especially doing somersaults and hanging on the bar. I think she'll be in gymnastics class before we know it.
I am spending hours trying to figure out Julia's summer plans. Libi will be in one camp with all her friends, but Julia will do a combination of gymnastics classes and weekly art camps. I hope she has fun this summer. Marigold isn't signed up for camp yet, although Adath Israel would be happy to have her. I haven't decided yet. I can't believe we're already thinking about summer before Passover, but that's the reality in our area. We have to sign up now or we'll be shut out.
Speaking of Passover, I volunteered to help chair the Model Seder for Perelman (Julia's school). I'm not sure what's involved yet. I also accepted the position of Co-Chair of the Preschool Board for Adath Israel for the 2008-2009 school year. It sounds like a lot, but I think I'm ready for the commitments. Over the actual Passover holiday we'll be in NY with my parents. We'll be dying to hear about their amazing trip to Israel (they are leaving tomorrow). It will also be fun to spend more time with Keri, Lavi & Ari, and David & Natalie, as well as Shoshana & Evie, Jillian & Brian and Gomer & Gofer (and Oma & Opa too!).

Marigold's First Week of School

Marigold started school last week. She is going on Monday & Wednesday mornings from 9-12. I decided that she would probably enjoy being with a small class of her friends rather than being in the car with me 6 hours a day running around. I am hoping that's true... Anyway, she hardly cried or made a fuss when I left her. The teachers said that she cried on transitions, like when they went to the Play Area, or when the music teacher came into the class. She cried when I came to pick her up, but then refused to leave until she had drawn a picture with crayons. So, I'm fully expecting her to still cry tomorrow morning, but hopefully that won't last long. Click on the new photo album of Marigold's Firsts. You can see how cute she was that first day of school. And there's also a couple of funny shots of her getting her first haircut on Dec. 31.

A couple of Great Photos

I just uploaded the photos we took over Winter Break and found a couple of really great photos! Check out these 2, one with Julia doing the Tree Pose, and the other is Shoshana with Oma & Opa at the Warmund Hanukah party. Enjoy!