Time to Unwind

There’s been no blog for a short while. Life is a little hectic at present. New school for both kids, new work projects coming in and just that giddy feeling that comes with being time starved.

I ‘took five’ today. The little one was acting bored so I took her out into the garden for a walk around. I was about to busy myself out there when I decided that I would hang out with her a little. The chores could wait.

I followed her as she toddled about, investigating plants, poking about in boxes and chasing the cat. She located a tube of ‘bubbles’ so we sat down, blew them and watched as they floated, gracefully into the air. She stood up, arms out-stretched with a gleeful expression on her face.

She then decided to walk down the side of the garden where, under the trees, lies a pile of dried out pink blossom and leaves. This is one of her favorite places. She stomped her little feet in the shifting pile of summer’s lost glory. We marched through, delighting in the noise and feel of our actions and then stooped down to take handfuls of petals and throw them into the air.

I know that some people spend precious time and money buying a whole range of stress relief products or undertaking all sorts of treatments and activities.

I think we are all born with an innate ability to relax and enjoy the world around us. However, it seems that the older we get the less in tune to that side of ourselves we become. We also have it low down on our list of priorities.

Today I had a strange thought; I imagined what it would be like for every office to have a 'leaf room', where workers could chill out and recapture a wild, childhood pleasure. Wouldn't that be fun!

They say that the best things in life are free; well twenty minutes in the garden with my adorable daughter and I felt like a new woman.

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

Israeli Nurseries - The Smell of Success

On Friday we had a party to celebrate the end of term at nursery. The kids all sat down and enjoyed singing and performing the actions for various songs. They waved coloured squares of material, shook tambourines and waved sparkly shakers. The parents videoed their every move and, being Israeli, chatted throughout, almost drowning out the kids.

When the singing ended the feast began. The kids sat down and munched through a whole range of treats. I watched as, one by one, they emerged from the dining room with chocolate mustaches and sticky hands.

The parents had clubbed together and purchased presents for the three staff. I felt bad because I was unaware of any collection. Perhaps it took place whilst my little one was off sick. They were each given a basket of goodies, but what I felt was more meaningful, was that each of them was given a piece of paper with a personal message on, thanking them for the care they had given the children. The message was written out neatly in gold pen and real effort had been made to make it a special keepsake. The parent who organized the collection read each one out to those present and everyone clapped.

It is at moments like this when Israelis really come up trumps. They have such inherent warmth to them and it is little touches like this that make me proud to be here and have adopted this homeland as mine. I think in the UK the onus would have been on the gift, but here, what was stressed and what will, I am sure, remain in the memories and hearts of the recipients, was the heartfelt thanks they received for what is, after all, extremely hard work.

I have been really impressed by the nursery staff. I chose a small nursery with a family atmosphere. The kids are all very well disciplined; when it is time to watch a video they sit down and don’t get up till the end; when it is time to eat they wait for the prayer before tucking in; when they have finished an activity they are involved in clearing away too. The place is full of music and laughter and the kids obviously enjoy coming.

Having left a tearful toddler with them for the last few weeks I know that my child is being well looked after. I know this because when she returns home she smells of the scent of one of the nursery workers. I guess she must be getting lots of hugs, love and security during tearful moments.

Israeli nurseries, like any others around the world, are good, bad and indifferent. I am so thankful to have found somewhere that I am happy with and that, more importantly, my little one has grown to love and enjoy.

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

A Slow Dash To The Hospital

I had a surreal evening last night. I always thought that once you got chicken pox, that was it; over and done with. The baby, though, has proven an exception to the rule and caught chicken pox for the second time in 3 months. This time around she had a very high fever and we wanted her to be checked over.

Thus, we had our first experience of an Israeli hospital dash, since making aliyah. We live on a yeshuv (settlement) and don’t have a car. In order to get to the nearest hospital we ended up calling an ambulance. We waited around 20 minutes with a baby who was worryingly hot; you could almost see steam coming from her. By the time the medics reached our house, her temperature had begun to go down a little. There followed a big debate; the driver warned us that taking the ambulance would incur a cost; ‘Do you really want to take her in? She looks OK to me’. He then told us to try to get a Dr to come out instead. We phoned up three local numbers; one didn’t reply, one went to answerphone and one was switched to fax. We decided we wanted her checked by a doctor, so eventually got in the ambulance.

Being a private ambulance, we had to disembark and switch to another ambulance so that the original one could stay in its service area. It struck me as odd that we had wasted around 40 minutes discussing whether to get into the ambulance, making calls, waiting for a rendezvous with another ambulance and finally switching over. It was hardly a streamlined service, operating with a sense of urgency!

The evening got yet stranger when I discovered that the girl volunteering with Magen David Adom, in the second ambulance, a lovely Australian here for a year, is related to a family we know from the UK.

We arrived at the hospital and the baby was checked over , diagnosed with chicken pox but finally given the all clear to return home. One of the paramedics from the ambulance hung around and told me that he lived near me and, if I waited for a few hours, would give me a lift home. Seeing as it was 3am in the morning, this was a great help and much appreciated.

Today she is a little brighter, although still burning up. Today I am quite a bit poorer thanks to the Israeli healthcare system. However, I guess in the end, the ambulance driver was right and next time I should only call the ambulance as an absolute last resort.

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

A Fitting Celebration

We went to a Bat Mitzvah this week. The Israeli Bat Mitzvahs I have been to have all been such joyous affairs. The girls learn Israeli dancing at school and it is lovely to see them all, holding hands and dancing in unison. The dancing is traditional and so graceful to watch.

Many of the parties I have been to in Israel have been home catered with friends supplying dishes to contribute. These parties all have a more intimate feel to them and the food is always delicious. It is a much warmer, simpler, less shallow way to celebrate and makes the focus the occasion itself rather than the catering/venue/DJ etc. It seems to me to be a very fitting way to welcome a girl into womanhood and to demonstrate proper values which will stand her in good stead throughout her adult life.

The baby enjoyed herself at the party as there was a never ending stream of teenage girls to carry her around and make a fuss over her. She looked lovely in her little summer frock, a far cry from the look she displayed earlier on in the day.

She is just constant trouble at the moment. She scavenges through the rubbish bin, empties out my cupboards, throws the laundry all over the floor etc.

In the morning I left her playing with a pile of toys and went to do some work on the computer. My older children were getting ready for school and half keeping an eye on her. I suddenly heard my son yell out and rushed to see what had happened. There stood the baby; the contents of a tub of zinc cream smeared all over her face and hair, covering both her hands up to her wrist and spread all down one side of the leather sofa. She stood there, wide-eyed, with her arms stretched outwards.

Half of me wanted to take a photo to record this ridiculous sight but the sensible side of me rushed over and started to clean off the cream. She was upset. The cream is water resistant and hard to remove. Her eyes stung and she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. It took a while, but we managed to de-cream both her and the sofa.

I guess that’s one more story for the baby book!

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

Hebrew Causes Maths Confusion

I was helping my daughter with her maths homework today. She and her friend (originally from the US) where having problems understanding tens and units. I went through it several times and they continued to get confused. Finally I worked out that the root of their confusion related to their switch from English to Hebrew; they now worked from right to left, not left to right and were therefore reading their numbers the wrong way round, ie 12 was read as 21 with the tens and units switched over. Once I explained that numbers should be read, ‘the English way’, they soon got the hang of it. I think this typifies some of the unexpected difficulties children sometimes have.

We find it easy to identify and respond to straight forward language difficulties but the switch in text direction also carries with it areas of confusion. Since coming to Israel my daughter has resumed some basic writing errors she had when she was much younger, eg. writing 9 as a P or 5 as a 2. Again it is the change of direction which has sparked this. Not only has she picked up errors but we discovered that she writes English with her right hand and Hebrew with her left. For some reason she just finds it easier.

I have not only had problems with ‘left and right’ this week but have had my share of difficulty with ‘up and down’ too. This week saw the installation of a stair gate in our house. Since the baby started walking she has become obsessed by getting into every nook and cranny and particularly likes climbing the stairs. The other day I took something out of the oven and in those few seconds she had reached the stairs and climbed half way up. I left the kitchen and looked for her but as I did so I heard, ‘thump, thump, thump… waaaa!’. The poor little thing had fallen down and lay flat on the floor in a state of alarm. There was that long silence and gulping of breath before the wail was emitted, which as all parents know, is a sure sign they are shocked and hurt. I scooped her up and comforted her. There was no damage and she was soon right as rain.

So today the stair gate is up and that is one less trouble spot she can get into. No sooner was it up then she had another accident. We were out in the garden and she was wandering around looking up at the trees and enjoying the exciting sights and smells that surrounded her. Suddenly she came across a ball and decided to pick it up. Unfortunately for her she was next to a tree and as she bent down she banged her head against it. Unluckily, the tree she chose has bark which is covered in prickles. Poor thing, I think, at this age, they can turn the most innocent objects into a danger zone, even stationary trees.

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

Ants Invasion

The ants are out! Israeli bugs are a world apart from those we see in the UK. British bugs are rather puny in comparison. The ants here are big, determined and difficult to deter.

This morning I saw a few of them on my worktop so I swept them into the sink and put the tap on. I was surprised to find them relatively water resistant. They kept on struggling against the tide, so much so that rather than a swift, insignificant swill down the sink, I started to feel bad about killing these little creatures who were hanging on so dearly for their lives. I was in for another surprise when I tried to remove one; it flew away! So, the fight is on for the hygiene of my kitchen; it's me, all tooled up with a range of deterrents, against Israel’s finest giant, airborne, water resistant ants – let battle commence!

As if the invasion of the ants wasn’t bad enough, my week was to get even worse. The baby woke up spotty and itchy… just a week before her birthday she has come down with Chicken Pox. Tonight I duly bathed her then daubed calamine lotion over every spot. She looks like she’s had an accident with a pot of white paint. Well I guess the birthday pictures will be memorable if nothing else!

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

Kids Are Smart!

Over Shabbat the baby took her first tentative steps. She is exactly eleven months old. She can manage up to seven steps then slumps down on her backside and claps and smiles, mimicking our enthusiastic response to her new trick. It is such a landmark – a transition from a baby to a toddler. Let’s just hope all this new found maturity will result in her sleeping at night!

Breaking News: The Comeback Kid is back! After going missing for a couple of days I discovered the tortoise at the bottom of a drain well. I spent some time blocking up gaps to make the garden as safe as possible. My daughter has decided that ‘he’ is a ‘she’ and finally a name has been decided upon - ‘Miri’

Last week my son came home from school with a request to bake some muffins for a school sale. All proceeds were to buy extra resources for the school. My eight year old daughter decided that she and I would bake them together. Tonight we had a nice session sieving flour, cracking eggs and generally making a mess. Whilst we were baking she asked me what the muffins were for. I explained to her and could see that she was giving this some thought.

“So all the parents are making treats and then giving money to the children to buy the treats?” she said.

“That’s right”, I said.

“And all the money raised is to buy books and things for the school?”

“Yes”, I said.

“Then why”, came the considered response, “don’t the parents just donate money to the school?”

She had stumped me. Why indeed! What a rigmarole for the same outcome! Sometimes kids are smart!

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

Sleep Deprived Zombie

I am a sleep deprived zombie. My eyeballs ache from tiredness and I have lost my spark.

I seem to produce sleepless babies with boundless energy who need never ending attention. I feel so jealous when other mums tell me about their 'sleep through the night' babies who, to add insult to injury, also have regular (and long) naps during the day. I can only imagine what a difference that would make to my life.

You would think that by number three I would have it all worked out! I do all the obvious things and give her a calm, routine end to the day. She wakes frequently during the night and often wants nursing back to sleep. I think it is time for some controlled crying. Actually, I know it is time but my older kids can’t bear the idea and think it cruel. How dare I treat their darling little sister in that way!!

It is not so much their reaction which has made me wait so long, it is more that they both get up around 6.30 am for school and need all the sleep they can get. I need to get up even earlier than the kids and so end up taking the easy option to help her settle rather than prolonging an already disturbed night’s sleep.

It is hard to find a solution which involves the baby learning to settle herself with minimum disruption to the rest of the family. Whenever I finally summon up the courage and the will to start, she comes down with a cold or starts teething and I feel too sorry for her not to give her the comfort she needs.

This week two local mums gave me suggestions, one told me that as soon as her baby went to childcare she came back exhausted and immediately settled into a good night time routine. The other mum told me to give her a bottle mixed with cereal so that it would feel heavier in her stomach and encourage her to sleep that bit deeper. I don’t really want to start day care just yet so I guess I will try out the bottle. Since she has always been nursed and just has the odd bottle I am not sure how it will go but it is worth a try. I will keep you posted.

When I am tired I tend to cut corners and make ridiculous mistakes. This week’s was a classic. My mum is coming to visit from the UK, to keep me company whilst my husband is away on business. I arranged for a cab to pick her up. I provided the flight number, the departing airport and the expected arrival time. The taxi duly arrived as instructed but I received a phone call later that night. He wondered why the flight was no longer listed on the arrivals board, all the passengers had come through passport control but my mum had still not materialised. As soon as he called I had flutter in my stomach, the kind when you just know you have done something stupid.

Predictably, having double checked my mum’s email I realized that I had every bit of information correct, except for the day of the flight; she was not due to fly until the next day. I felt such a fool. I sheepishly called him back and explained my error and then called my mum to forewarn her that her daughter was causing no end of disruption and definitely needed some TLC. She duly arrived the next day and both she and the taxi driver had a good laugh at my expense on the journey home.

Lack of sleep is a known form of torture but because after the worst nights they awake with a smile on their face and a glint in their eyes, we fall in love with them all over again and forgive them everything. A mother’s love; unconditional and everlasting.

Sleep well.

Sharona

www.judaicamosaica.com

Cheap and Cheerful

We have been working hard to prepare for two business events this week – a house party in Jerusalem and a UK trip. It has been hard to firm up the plans and make up the products as well as keep my 9 month old entertained.

She is at the stage where she wants to involve me in everything she does - eat, sleep, play; they all need assistance, support or praise, preferably all three. She needs constant stimulation and without attention she is off causing trouble; touching the television buttons, pulling books off low shelves, investigating the contents of the rubbish bin; crawling under the table then sitting up and banging her head.... she is trouble with a capital T.

These days I have discovered the best toys for a curious toddler. I have a pile of colourful, educational toys to teach her hand/eye co-ordination, pre-reading skills, movement control etc. etc. However, by far her favourite toys are the things I keep by the rubbish bin, ready to throw out – empty plastic bottles, empty cereal boxes, plastic packaging etc. She loves the feel of them, the noises they make, rolling, throwing, playing with them.

I have resorted to getting a cardboard box and have filled it with cleaned out packaging. Forget the expensive and the impressive; the cheap and familiar is what keeps my daughter amused these days.

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

Back to Basics

This Purim somehow felt like our first in Israel. Last year we had still not found ‘home’ and were very much ‘newcomers’. This Purim marked nearly our first anniversary of living in the same place, quite an achievement since our first six months was played out in three different towns.

The children got dressed up as usual. Not being particularly clever on the sewing front I bought my costumes as usual. Most years the costumes just about make it through till the end of Purim before falling apart. My daughter’s costume was, of course, a princess, and was covered in frills and sparkle. My son was a knight, complete with sword and shield. Both of them shed most of their sparkle before their first outing and the dress turned out to be quite uncomfortable. My son disliked his and ended up donning a cloak, some fang teeth and making a very good vampire (with the help of face paint).

We noticed that many people here hand made their costumes. There are lots of large families here and the cost of buying each child a new outfit would be high. I thought the hand made costumes were great and in somehow were much more in the spirit of Purim. Some of my daughter’s friends came dressed up as a strawberry, a tub of chocolate spread etc. They were inventive and funny and what’s more they were comfortable! I think I am going to make the effort next year to have a go at making costumes myself. Purim has become quite commercialized and the shops certainly did well from their sale of costumes and mishloach manot.

We did make our own Purim baskets though – we bought a selection of sweets, biscuits, fruit, nuts and made cakes. We really enjoyed making them up and adding labels the kids had made on the computer. On the day the kids went out in fancy dress to deliver them all. It was extremely hot this year and they came back tired and hot but with the job done. I took a photo of my little princess daughter, full of frills, face painted, but struggling from having walked around in the heat for nearly an hour; she decided to ‘take five’ and curled up on a rock to catch her breath. It ended up being the picture of Purim for me, encapsulating the day.

We were invited out to eat at our Rabbi's house and a wonderful seudah was put on. A little while after we started eating a group of people dressed in ambulance uniforms turned up. An extra table and chairs were soon gathered and they joined us for the meal. I had assumed they were dressed up and only found out afterwards that they were a local Magen Dovid Adom crew who had called in after coming off duty. So I was not fooled by a disguise but fooled by the lack of one!

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

A Round of Applause

Purim is approaching. The kids have their costumes, various noisy instruments and our mishloach manot are slowly coming together.

As you may know, when we read the Megillah we are obligated to understand the story of Purim in both a historical and modern context. In every generation there are those, like Haman, who seek our demise. It struck me as a little ironic that Haman and Hamas, separated by just a letter and by many centuries, both have the same ideology.

Again, in Israel, we live in difficult times. Much hostility surrounds us, from local and afar; both blatant and concealed. May we learn from events past and present to steer our path towards a more a peaceful existence.

On a lighter note, we had much excitement in our house this week; two ‘firsts’ for the baby inside of a week – our little one can now clap and wave (although not together!). She is so proud of her new accomplishments. The other day she started crying because I had taken the liberty of sneaking off to do some work and was not attending to her every whim. This I am sure is not so unusual but the strange result on this occasion was a red, teary face and indignant sobs, accompanied by her still proudly clapping her hands!!

Chag Purim Sameach - Happy Purim

Sharona B
http://www.judaicamosaica.com/