Public thank you

We'd like to thank the Hararys for the wonderful shabbos in Passaic. Ahuva and Hodi get along great-- Hodi pats (lovingly of course) Ahuva on the head continuously and Ahuva pulls her hair-- they're bestest friends. Also, shout out to Yehudis and Chaife for a fun motz shabbos party in the Heights.

Catch up on news

First of all, happy birthday to Shmuly and to me. Hope everyone had an easy fast. Not much news in Chicago - just snow and more snow. One exciting event - Michal is finally getting the hang of potty training. Wishing Yehudis, our fearless leader, a Tzaisaich L'Shalom and a wonderful trip - fuhr gezunt and kum gezunt (go and come in good health) and have a great time in between. Tovey is off to the big apple tomorrow for Ilana Alyesh's wedding. Mazel Tov! Shmuly and Avital will be returning to Baltimore where the snow has mostly melted. The BP's visited the Aquarium today. So that's all the news that's fit to print - not much - but just wanted to keep everyone up to date. Love,

Mommy

RIP CHRISTY AFRICAN ELEPHANT

As members of the zoological society, we received an email....

We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Christy African Elephant. The 29-year-old pachyderm, who arrived at the zoo in 1984, was humanely euthanized as a result of renal (kidney) failure.

in search of...

i figure if i can't find a job, i should start searching for other things.
anyone know where i can get flexible headbands with teeth (such as the one i'm wearing in the following picture)?



p.s. the find-tovey-a-job contest is still going!!! send in your submissions now!

Maybe I'm cold blooded?

The long awaited WINTER has graced us with her presence! Who's excited? Slippery streets, black ice, biting winds, climbing over piles of shoveled snow to get to the crosswalk, stepping in 4 inches of slush to avoid getting hit by cars and other pedestrians, and of course there's the thrill of getting hit by stray snowballs as you climb up the giant hill to work. I know, right?! What's not to love?

I've also had the absolute wintery pleasure of being freezing for the past 3 days now. My heat apparently doesn't go on that high - or it's just that cold outside. I've taken hot showers, blow-dried hair, layered in sweatshirts, socks, blankets, and even a thermal that didnt' do diddly squat. And then there's 'inside out' remedies like warm drinks, warm food, but alas, like the Berenstein Bears who dared to go in the Spooky old Tree, I've still got the shivers.

Either I'm cold-blooded like my fav BY teacher (shoutout E-BP! hehe) or sick, but either way I think the time has come to start workin on my "get the heck out of Dodge" plan.

So ... where to live? I want mild/warm preferrably without tornadoes, hurricanes, and/or earthquakes. The basic plan is to avoid natural disasters and political unrest.

I'm open to suggestion.

Baby Pix

Miriam Orit Isenberg....Newest member of the Isenberg Club. Now how can we get a family sweathshirt in size NB?

Snowy day activity

cinnamon buns from leftover challah...kinda crumbly but still pretty yummy.

New Baby, New Name

Moshe and Devora's baby finally has a name - and it is beautiful. Her name is Miriam Orit. May they be zoche to raise her in good health to Chuppah and Maasim Tovim. We wish them much mazel and bracha. Welcome to the family, Miriam Orit.

Al Hanissim - a different twist

fun post by an apt of YU guys.
Happy Chanukah! enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/coopjr#p/a/u/2/7wUJvABpPyI

Thank you from Mommy

Thank you all especially you organizers for the beautiful bouquet I got today for my birthday. It is very pretty and I really appreciate the thought and effort behind the gift. May we all be zoche to have a good healthy year and may we see much nachas from all of you.

New Baby

Does anyone out there have any more details about M & D's new daughter other than the fact that she was born??

Where'd it go?

Inquiring minds want to know . . . what happened to Mendy's blog about the escaped pt?

Happy Chanukah!

Interview #2!

Shmuly got an interview at THE Ohio State University! (Columbus, OH) Does anyone know why they insist calling it THE Ohio State and not just Ohio State University?? Oh and we're going to Cincinnati next week for Shabbos...

Day 2 Back at Work

I started back at work yesterday. I figured taking off 6 - 8 weeks for a maternity leave should be adequate, and it was just about 7 weeks. I didn't want to wait until next week and start during Chanuka. Especially since I'll have to take off on Thursday next week since all of the kids are off from school/playgroup.

Hadassah M. is under the care of her Bubby 2 days a week, and her Aunt Janice the other 2 days while I am at work.

Anyway, yesterday I came back to work. I set up my workstation and get ready to log in. My attempt ends with the following message: "You account has expired." My manager was not in yesterday, but I didn't know if he could help anyway. I called the helpdesk. The helpdesk guy confirmed that, yes, indeed, my account had expired. On Dec. 5. According to him, accounts expire annually and managers have to go into the system and request an extension for the next year. I called my manager's cell phone -- he was in Los Angeles packing up for his return flight to Baltimore (although he actually took a flight to Philadelphia and told me that his plane was heading for Tel Aviv next and he saw a lot of frum ppl on his flight from LA) -- so he couldn't really do much about the problem. So I called the guy in LA who is my manager on paper, but I didn't get through to him, just left a voicemail which he apparently didn't think was real important to respond to. So, in the end, yesterday was pretty much a wasted workday as far as I was concerned.

And, based on the fact that I'm blogging instead of working right now, you can infer that things have still not been fixed yet today. My manager is here today, and he called my LA manager to let him know that this has to be taken care of. LA manager told him to call his AA and get her to take care of whatever it is that he has to do to make things work again. But we tried calling her and she didn't pick up. Left her a voicemail and have yet to hear back. At least I have access to the internet so I'm not just staring into space all day.

As for other news, Tuesday afternoon saw all of us, except Yosef, at the dentist's for our semi-annual cleaning. Yanky, Tzvi, Sara, and I all get our checkups, while Shifra and Hadassah were just there as spectators. Everything went fine until the dentist was busy when we were ready to be checked after the hygenists did their thing. We waited around way too long. The kids were not so happy about it. And after the dentist checked us out, the 3 kids still had to get their fluoride. Yanky said he didn't want the kind that they paint on, so Tzvi and Sara echoed his sentiments. Yanky elected to do the fluoride rinse instead and got that over with. But T and S didn't even want to do that. In the end, Tzvi let them to the painting on kind while he just stood out in the hallway. Sara got that kind too while sitting on my lap with me pinning her hands down and after some tears. Parenting just feels so cruel sometimes. B"H, no cavities to take care of though, and the kids got to go to the pizza shop after the ordeal.

Lisa

It's SENT!

My paper is DONE.


D.O.N.E ~> Done!!!

Thank you, gracias, merci, toddah rabbah to ShiMendy for all their help, editing, and critiquing and of course Mrs. B (Shoutout Pittsburgh) for supplying the sources re: Protestant and Counter Reformation! I almost didn't expect this day to come. I just emailed the actual doc to my prof. If you wanna read about the Oppression of the Jews as a tactic of the Counter Reformation (I know you're all dying to get your hand on it) let me know and I'll gladly fwd it on.
 
...And now time to focus on studying for my final exam. Bbye Christianity, hello Islam* :) hehehe
Lila tov to all and to all a good nite.

PM
*Course titled Jews in the Lands of Islam

PS - Anyone know if the Isenbergs of the West Rogers variety are on the site - would love to hear from 'em...

stories 2 - from m - swiss cheese night

from m...

Last night, my team was on call, so we cover the other teams' patients till the night [float] team arrives.

One hour before we were supposed to "sign out" [to go home], i get a page about a lady who lost her IV access and will need one for pain medications and a blood transfusion later that night...all the floor nurses tried and could not get it so the on call team was called.

So I figure.....an easy IV line, no problem. Off I go to meet a cachectic long-term IV drug using lady with NO VEINS...ok...so i'll try...first i try with a relatively large bore needle [18]...poke, and manage to hit the vein twice but it doesn't hold...darn 18...ok...poke again with a smaller one, a 20...poke, poke, nada..ok...a tiny 22...poke poke zilch...OK...a 24! poke poke poke poke poke.....nada...nada nada nada nada and nada...antecubitals...miss...hands...nope...neck...miss.....finally [half an hour later], try an EJ [external jugular]...poke poke poke over and over NADAAAAAAAAAA. meanwhile pt is not a happy camper [think hysterical crying]...perhaps should have stuck to "3 strikes, you're out" rule but nobody else around...so...called in a colleague...an expert who rotated with anesthesia [hat tip to expert line placers here] for 3 months...who has never met a stick he couldn't do...till now.. poke poke poke poke poke for half an hour + EJ attempts...nada....so now 2 frustrated residents, no IV access, and a lady who wld put swiss cheese to shame from all the holes...what to do?

call the senior.....suggest to him a central line or ultrasound.....
senior's answer - nope - we'll sign it out to nightfloat...time to go home

sorry lady....what can i do? time to go home. night float will take care of ya...
see ya in the am.

ps i called an expert PICU nurse to try before we left....she got a 24 in.....happy ending for all...
well for most of us...

Third times a charm...

You all must be wondering why I'm on here with three aliases...here's the reason. I created a gmail account and forgot the password 2 times. After getting the run around from google saying that I'm not spanish and have no connection to my prior addresses I broke down and created a third new one - ebp782. Just in case you wanted to email me. I figured that I should post something here before I forget the password again...so here's the latest news from the B-P's.....
...Adina got a black eye, Ari is the star of the week ( I had to go and bring his class freeze pops), Chaim realized that we are not moving to the 6th floor barclay apt, and I got pretty new pink fleece pajamas. Already an accomplishing week. I can't think of anything else except that I would invite everyone to a kiddush at YM...but it's already taken by the Gutstein's aufruf...guess it will have to be another week. Have a happy Hanuka!

Interview #1!!

Shmuly got an interview at University of Cincinnati! Hopefully it'll be the first of many!
We're thinking about going there for shabbos next week for a Friday interview. We'll keep you updated.....

Dovi - Before you throw Italy under the bus...

New Mexico wasn't so innocent either.
In the late 1600s the governor of New Mexico and his wife were accused of practicing Judaism; soon thereafter the same charge was leveled against a soldier and bureaucrat named Francisco G�mez Robledo, who was also said to have a tail -- supposedly the mark of a Jew. All were examined by the Holy Office. All were acquitted.

.... The Inquisition's punishments for such transgressions ranged from the forced public wearing, for months or even years, of the humiliating sanbenito -- a knee-length yellow-sackcloth gown -- and headgear resembling a dunce cap to years of imprisonment in a monastery to garroting and burning at the stake. By the time the Inquisition was abolished in Mexico, in 1821, it had put to death about a hundred accused crypto-Jews, and many suspected Judaizers still languished behind bars

Full Article: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/12/ferry.htm

Parents are home again

Hi guys! Well, we're back from Baltimore again. We had an uneventful flight and are happy to be back home again. Thank you to Yosef and Lisa for hosting us, to Hadassah Miriam for giving us the opportunity to visit, and to Shmuly and Avital for living there too. It was nice seeing 6 Isenberg siblings together at once. Rucky and kids are going to be spending a couple of days with us because Dovi is going to New Mexico for the CRC. We'll have to start gearing up for Chanuka this week - I've already had some requests for Sufganiyot. Itchy is having some WITS friends stay with us over Shabbos. Stay well and warm everybody. Love, Mommy

Shmuly was caught redhanded!!!

So, everyone knows how Shmuly is "against the blog" and "doesn't give in to those things." Well..... a picture is worth 1,000 words isn't it?

:)

JOBS????

Ok so I made my schedule for next semester, and apparently I am only going to school two days - mondays and wednesdays from 10-7. So that leaves tuesdays and thursdays wide open. So here's where the title comes in! Who wants to find me a job in ny? :) I don't even know where to start. So...
Thanks in advance -
Chaife

IT'S OFFICIALI !!

I shall be heading across the Atlantic for work and play! (First Stop - Israel!)  My ticket is booked (12/28 - 1/14) and once I get the guide book from Chaifenstein (Thanks Drs. Rubin) I'm going to book my hotel stay in ROME! Yes, Rome, like the Italian Republic (Italian: Italia, IPA: [i'taːlja] or Repubblica Italiana, IPA: [ɾe ˌpubblika ita 'ljaːna]), the Southern European country.

Elana B is gonna meet me out in the Middle East and we're going to explore the Holy Land for a week and stay through Shabbat. Bright and early Monday morning we head to Roma. I'm uber excited - it's going to be ballisimo! And maybe I'll even get to meet Andrea Boccelli or Josh Groban. Yes, I know the don't live there and the likelihood I'll run into them even if they did is slim to none - but a girl can dream.  Here's where I'd imagine Davey starting to sing "al improviso aah tuu tuu!" hehe.

Ahhhhh...Heat

Waking up to a brisk 69 degrees yesterday, I knew something was amiss. Our thermostat was set to 73, and nothing was happening. I called American Home Shield (a home warranty we got with the house for a year) for them to send out a service company. They sent out Tony from Always Heating and Cooling (who, after three weeks of phone calls, finally gave up their task of replacing our AC in the summer). Tony went to check if there was power running to the furnace with the black and red thingy that electricians use. He registered no electricity. He noticed there was no fuse. "That's the problem," he diagnosed. I told him we never had one. He was insistent, and I told him not to come to my house and tell me its not working because of no fuse, when the heat worked all last winter and until yesterday. He then asked me how to get out of the basement. I guess its possible to forget WHERE YOU CAME FROM in ten minutes. He comes back, all packed up, telling me that since the fuse is bypassed, there is improper installation, and the home warranty doesn't cover it. Please give me 60 bucks. I begrudgingly paid, and called Uri Brill of U & E Service (his wife does the makeup). He came as the other guy left, whipped out his electric meter dohickey, and lo and behold! There WAS electricity running through the unit. Tony must have forgotten to turn his thing on! And that doesn't surprise me from a guy who gets lost in other houses.
Sof kol sof, our board which was replaced in August got "zapped", and since this furnace is nearing the end of it already extended life, and good 'ole Uncle Sam is giving tax credits for 1/3 of the cost of upgrading to an energy efficient system, we are having our furnace replaced. (Ironically, when we have no heat, a chimney sweep is coming today to check our fireplaces.) Thanks again to Zaidie and Savta for their hospitality at Chalet Isenberg Chicago.

-Dovi

Is My Timestamp Corrected Now? And Other News.

This blog isn't particularly about Shifra, but I liked the picture, so I thought I'd share it. I think I like it even better than this one:


I think I may have already e-mailed this one to some of you. I had gone to my room for a while that afternoon, having left Sara and Shifra eating a snack in the kitchen. When I came out of my room, it was suspiciously quiet, and I was worried about what I might find. Sara was playing quietly in the hallway, and she said Shifra was still in the kitchen. And so she was.

The exciting news here is that after posting my last blog about the kiddush, I attempted to change my settings so that my timestamps show up as Eastern time instead of Pacific. Hopefully that worked. I started my last blog at 10:43pm, not 7:43!

After having had our stint with the dentist (our scheduled cleaning is Dec. 8, and so far there have been no new visits since the last posting about it -- keep your fingers crossed), this past week was the "support your local Orthodox pediatrician" instead. On Monday, I took Yanky there due to complaints of an ear-ache. Sure enough, he was diagnosed with an ear infection. On Tuesday, I took Hadassah there for her scheduled one-month check up. Then on Wed., Shifra woke up with what looked like an obvious case of pink eye. Having had enough visits to the dr's office already over the past two days, I wasn't so interested in going again. So . . . wait -- all you dr. people out there, please skip the next section, I'll start a new paragraph when it's okay for you to read again. Anyway, so not wanting to go back to the dr's office for a third day in a row, I self-diagnosed Shifra and gave her eye drops that we had in the house from when Sara had had pink eye way back when.

B"H, Yanky and Shifra have both recovered beautifully. And we found out that Hadassah weighs just over 9 lbs.

(Another) Kiddush

Looks like the Isenberg mishpacha is making a chazaka here -- a kiddush each Shabbos 3 weeks in a row. IY"H we will be hosting a kiddush for Hadassah Miriam this Shabbos, Parashas Vayishlach. The kiddush will be at our house (most likely starting about 1 hour after the early minyan ends and lasting till well after the later minyan ends).

We are currently accepting reservations for those coming from out of town. Beds/bedrooms are limited, so please let us know if you are coming to the Chalet Isenberg Baltimore for this event as soon as possible. Reservations have already been made for Savta, Zaidy, Itchie and Davy.

Hope to see you there!

Who's making the kiddush next week????

A Thanksgiving Message

We've also included this video below, that is totally un-Thanksgiving related, but we thought it was funny. We call it, "What are sisters for?"



Special shout out to Esti - Thanks for the headband!

Considerate gym-maid

First of all, I am only awake now b/c it's the only time I can work on the article I need to write for the Jewish Action. Which of course, I am procrastinating writing right now anyway. I need to share what happened at the gym b/c it was so surprising. It's really not all that interesting though, so don't get excited. I was on the elliptical, after a rough run on the treadmill, when I see a man come in all the way at the front of the gym. He talks to the woman at the desk for a minute, and then she comes all the way back to the elliptical, to me. She came to tell me he was the exterminator and he just needed to walk by the main gym to get to the basement, and did I want to go get "covered up" or was it okay to just tell him not to look that way? How considerate, no?

On another note, Mendy and I were driving back from his parents on Sunday night and we saw a sign just before the GWB that was confusing. (GWB = George Washington Bridge) It said "Commercial traffic upper level only". At first I understood this to mean that I was not allowed to use the upper level of the bridge because I was not commercial traffic. Mendy said, however, that because p=q, this does not imply that q=p or something like that. So we took the upper level and no one made us do a commercial. I think, however, that I could do NY a service by editing their traffic signs. I am surely not the only one who was confused by this.

parental units have returned home

Hi Y'all! The parental units have returned from Baltimore. Shmuly and Avital's kiddush was lovely, baby Ahuva is adorable, baby Hadassah Miriam is also adorable as are all the rest of the next generation Isenbergs. Davy is alive and well - we actually saw him and he does exist! We saw all his teachers and B"H Davy is doing well at Ner Israel. Tattie left early to teach, but his plane was late and he missed the first class. I had lunch with Shmu, Avital, and Ahuva at Mama Leah's. Then I went to pta meetings. Then I met Davy and took him to Subway for a sandwich (the flatbread is yoshon) and to 7=11 for a Slurpy. Returned to Yosef's to bond a little more with the kids. I watched Yanky beat Pajama Sam and Darkness, returned the rental car and went back to the airport. Now here I am back in good old Chicago. It was nice seeing whoever I saw, and I hope to see the rest of you sometime soon. Thank you Yehudis for teaching me how to post.

Mommy

Savta is IN THE HOOOUSEE!

Just added the Matriarch to the list :)

testing... 1. 2. 3?

the long anticipated "find tovey a job" contest!

featuring a GRAND PRIZE, yet to be determined, for the lucky individual who successfully leads tovey to actual full-time employment.

good luck!



p.s. this is a real contest. and there will be a real prize. and it will be tangible, not just my undying love and affection.

Kiddush

We want to invite the "gantze mishpacha" to a kiddush for Babe-a Babe-a (as Michal has affectionately named Hadassah.) The party is going to be Thanksgiving weekend at our house at approximately 11:30 am. Anyone have any ideas for cute (and cheap) centerpieces?

Sunday Fun

Today, the Baltimore Shomrim put together a carnival and flag football game against the Baltimore police for the community to support the Baltimore mounted police unit. Sounded like fun, so while Yosef stayed home to try to sleep away his congestion, I went out with our 5(!) kids to check out the fun.

Once there, we bought some ride tickets and then checked out what was there. First, Yanky, Tzvi, and Shifra got a turn to sit in a police helicopter. No, they were not giving rides, but it's still neat to climb in and be in a real helicopter. Sara decided not to go in. I'm not sure why. Last year when we went to one of these things, she did take a turn.

Next, we got on line for pony rides. This time, Sara took a turn too. I think she was kind of terrified, but kind of liked it too. For Shifra, I walked next to her during her ride, holding on to her just in case. Yanky was relegated to watching Hadassah while I did my hakafos with Shifra, but that was fine since there were only 2 ponies in the ring. Yanky and Sara went first, Tzvi and Shifra second shift.

While we were waiting on line for the pony rides, we were standing right near the football field where they were getting ready to start the game. For the intro, they had some people speak, and then some sort of marching drumming band performed, which was interesting to see and hear. Those were some LARGE drums. Loud, too.

After the ponies, we checked out the police horses -- way bigger than those ponies, an armored police truck, police motorcycles (which the kids got to sit on), and a police technical assistance unit whatever that is (the 4 older kids went in while I stayed out with Hadassah. The thing looked like some sort of souped up RV).

Next we went to the inflatables, except that Yanky and Tzvi wanted to do the rock climbing wall. So we left them waiting on line while I took the girls to an inflatable climbing/slide thing that they enjoyed going on repeatedly. As a matter of fact, I told the girls that that was enough and it was time to get their shoes on. I helped Sara get her shoes on, and then turned around to say hi to a neighbor, and when I turned back, Shifra was gone. I went around to the entrance of the slide, and, yup, there she was, ready for another go at it. I finally got her off with the offer of a cotton candy. I don't think Shifra knew what cotton candy was, but anything with "candy" in its name is tempting to her. We got cotton candy and brought it over to the boys who were still waiting in line for their turn at the climbing wall. They enjoyed watching the helicopter lift off while eating cotton candy on line. After the climbing wall, which the boys didn't complain about, but seemed like an utter disappointment to me, it was time to go home -- it was already getting dark and the carnival was closing up. Yanky was able to climb to at least past his height, but not much more, and Tzvi couldn't really climb the wall at all. Oh, well, as long as they weren't complaining . . . .

On a somewhat separate note, I guess the family fun time today tired me out. Yosef put Shifra to bed while I took the 3 oldest kids to Seven Mile Market for some quick grocery shopping. Then, after supper, I put Sara to bed. Next, while I put Tzvi to bed, I laid down with him and fell asleep. At about the time I was putting Tzvi to bed, Yosef left to ma'ariv and learning. Next thing I know, Yanky comes into his room to go to bed. He didn't realize at first that I was there. He didn't know where any parents were, but being 9:30, he decided to go to bed even without a parent to send him. And despite the fact that I usually try to get him to bed at 8:45, I was impressed! My kids do not usually go to bed voluntarily! Speaking of going to bed, I think it's about time for me to re-hit the sack. Good night, all.

--Lisa

More (original) Isenbergs in Passaic than Baltimore...

I love my boss...

In a plutonic, he's the man, totally rocks kinda way. Because ...  it seems that he/YU will be sending me to ISRAEL to represent the money office for spring registration!!!! YEA -  ISRAEL. Maybe my life is kinda exciting. Who knew?!  Now if only I could get someone to do my laundry :)

I even the green light, even suggested by el heffe (the boss) himself that I take a week vacation right after registration and well, vacation! I've love to tour Greece, or Spain? Maybe even ITALY!?!

Just thought I'd share my excitement with the masses.

Oh and with the HEBREW setting. Go to the dashboard. (The link directly to the right of your email address which appears on top right when you sign in) and select the language you so desire. That should fix it.

~PM

How to post...at least in the Hebrew version of blogger

Mother, there should be a link at the top of your page that says "New Post" -in the long dark pink banner that runs across the whole page. Or maybe it says "Reshumah Chadashah, like mine". If anyone knows how to switch it back to English, please do tell.

Oh, and check out Hodi dancing!

Over here in Baltimore...

So, figured that we'd better post something here so you can all know about the exciting life we lead here on Fallstaff Road in Baltimore. Shmuly's been going to work at Rite Aid daily and is taking A&P II. I go to school and do homework when Ahuva sleeps. Ahuva is a busy busy girl, learning how to crawl, sitting up (yes Chaife, now she sits! ;)), and all in all being pretty darn cute! She's getting excited for her kiddush next shabbos because it's not every day that there's a party just for you when it's not your birthday!
Oh, I just remembered, we actually do have some news. WE GOT NEW TIRES ON OUR CAR! We went the tire store on Wednesday and they didn't have the tires we wanted in stock so they told us to come back on Friday. So, on Friday, I (Avital) went to get the tires put on the car. I dropped off the car and went across the street to Marshalls. Meanwhile, the tire man calls and says they ordered the wrong size tires and the ones we want are much more expensive, but they have them in stock. I told him that at the new quoted price, I was going to need to take my car elsewhere. He quickly came down in price though and the new tires were put on our car.
On Sunday night, I ran out to pick something up from my friend's house and I hit the curb hard and popped a tire!!! NOT TO WORRY!! We had purchased the tire protection and we got a new tire for free! Moral of the story: Always buy the "tire protection plan"!!

Hodi Video!!!

Everyone should watch this cute video of Hodi!
cute Hodi video

Hachnosas Orchim at Arie Crown

On Thursday, the nursery at Arie Crown put on a little show for the families of the nursery students. Adina and Shalom looked excited, as we all waited with bated breath for the show to begin. They started with a stunning rendition of "Shalom Shalom". This led to "Rosh, Einayim.."Shalom preferred not to do the motions (or sing for that matter). "Who built the teivah?" was next followed by a fall song. The finally was the kids using simple instruments to complement Beethoven's sixth. The crowd was on their feet, calling for an encore, but alas, the stars of the show had enough and were whisked away to their classrooms. We followed and were offered concessions such as dried fruit and Sunkist fruit gems. A grand time was had by all.

okay for some reason, my blogger account is set up in Hebrew. does anyone know how to switch it to English? It would be most helpful.

On a Hodi-note, she is feeling better, no fever, but is still very irritable and sleepy. Poor poopyhead. But she still looked mighty cute today in the outfit and headband in which aunty banana dressed her. thanks chaif - we owe ya one.

in other news, i attended a free diabetes half-day conference in the city today, and there was kosher food. kosher food! at a FREE conference. it was because it was in the UJA building. Dovi, the whole event was OU-certified. I hope that meets your approval. they're on the card, after all.

test post...

test post...is this coming out in Hebrew?

Support your local Orthodox Dentist

Well, that's what we've been doing lately anyway. Yanky has been to the dentist twice since HM has arrived. The week before Hadassah (aka HM) was born, he complained that he had a toothache. I didn't make an appointment with the dentist because a) maybe he was exaggerating how bad it was b) I didn't want to make an appointment that I couldn't keep because of having the baby. Finally, the week after Hadassah was born, my parents offered to take Yanky to the dentist for us. As Yanky had unequivocally stated, he had a cavity. The dentist put in a filling, and Bubby took Yanky to school to carry on with the rest of his day.

Fast forward to this week, Monday. Yanky starts complaining about a toothache again. This time on the other side of his mouth. Not only that, but he states that he can tell it's not a cavity. Something else is wrong. This time, since I don't have to worry about labor getting in the way of a dentist appointment, coupled with the fact that Yanky woke up in the middle of the night with tooth pain AND was WILLING to take Tylenol, I made a dentist appointment the next day. Turns out Yanky was right -- the problem wasn't a cavity. It was an infection from an abscess under a cavity, or something like that. And so, Yanky's tooth was yanked.

To top off all of our recent dental office activity, our regular cleanings are scheduled for the beginning of next month, so we'll be heading there again in just a few more weeks. But maybe I should just settle for hoping not to end up there again before that!

3 pages - 4 more to go.

First off - Refuah shelaima to the Hod-meister.

Secondly, y'all should be so proud of me. After anxiously scarfing down a very unhealthy dinner, I sat down in front of my computer and began writing this never ending paper on Italian Jewry. Although my admitted obsession with Josh Groban and learning Italian through song did not quite come in as handy as I orginially had hoped, things are lookin' up. Who knew that the 16th century Protestant Reformation had so much to do with the horrible decrees by the Pope against the Jews. Well, when I'm done with this piece o' work you're welcome to read it so you too are in the know.

Like I've said before, it's an exciting and thrilling life I lead. And ufortunately, I still haven't done my laundry.

Buona notte la mia famiglia
~PM

A little underwhelmed

Apparently their is an obsession about the crannberry juice cocktail at northshore hospital (i made reference to it in my previous post) by some people in the frum community and after having tried it i have to say, i have no idea what the big deal is. It doesn't even taste like crannberry. I will say its a little refreshing since its nice and cold and has a little bit of flavor but its nothing to go crazy over. I just don't get it.

I wonder what the apple is like......?

Welcome to Northshore University Health System...

Today is my first day at northshore which was the hospital formerly known as evanston hospital. I have to say that it is quite a different experience. Here are some of the "perks" that come with going to Northshore as opposed to the U of C that i will enjoy over the next 2 months. Today i'm on OB so most of the "perks" are focused on that.

My commute was 10minutes as opposed to 35minutes.
Everyone smiles and is polite, even the clerks.
All the equipment i would need for epidurals are all in the room and i don't need to run around and grab it all.
The women, for the most part, are less than 400lbs.
The nurse helps with just about everything like getting medication, etc....
The patients actually cooperate and don't give you attitude when you try to help them.
The father is actually in the room.
The baby dady really is the father.
They have crannberry juice cocktail and i have free access to it.

I could go on, but so far so good. That being said, i've been here for all of 4hrs, but i'll keep you all posted. So far i have not had any frum patients, but i feel like thats only a matter of time. Sorry, can't reveal any names if i have any patients.

Later.

Just flew back from Kosherfest...

And boy, are my arms tired (rimshot, please)! Just a word of caution to any future attendees: Be very cautious about what is being served and what you eat. There are many kashrus problems that are occuring as things currently stand. Hopefully next year there will be improvements. I'll keep you posted as next years event rolls around.

Almost forgot...

Some of you may be wondering why the background is Pepto-Pink... Well it was the only design option that was created by Dan Rubin.

Dan the man of many trades :)

Bienvenido mi familia

Hey Tovster and Sruface (I know, I know, he's not going to be reading this...)
Tanti auguri a te  (happy b-day to you in Italian)

By now you should have all recieved invites to post on the family blog. If not, well check your mail again.
Still not there? Email me.

Topic suggestion of the week. What is your favorite cookie and why? Also feel free to share recipes.
 (One day I will reveal why i'm so obsessed. But not today.)

Happy blogging and Shabbat shalom.
~PM

It's 5 o'clock somewhere....

It's 5 o'clock on the E. Coast and I'm almost done with work. Okay, that's a lie. I'm procrastinating. But figured there's no time like the present to start the family BLOG!!

To catch you up to speed on my uber-exciting activities as a sexy single livin' the high life... I went to work today. I'm going home. Thrilling!! and... I'm even thinking of doing laundry tonight - with a new fabric softener!! I know, right?!!! so exciting.

Actually this week is pretty hectic. Spent all Sunday at an old air-base (Obama uses the long stretch of road (old runway) when he comes in to NY...). The Pediatric Cancer Foundation had a carnival and I went with my friend to help her with her booth. This Wednesday, I'm helping her again at her jewelry sample sale. (Great looks for less!) So if you're in the market for the perfect gift that wont' break the bank - let me know and I'll try and make the jewelry connection.) www.miriamlei.com check it out. Chanukah is right around the corner ~ I can almost smell the sufganiyot.
Also have a paper to write and more sources to read up on in Hebrew - Thanks Ta!

The clock is ticking so I gotta run.

Let the iSenblogging begin!