Tuesday, January 26, 2010
chicago update
Well, I haven't posted for a while, so here goes. First of all, thank you all for the pictures you sent or emailed to me. I put together my frame and Tattie helped me to hang it up, and now I enjoy looking at it when I miss all my delicious grandkids. I'm always open for more pictures - I can start another frame. Happy Birthday to Ari Ben-Porat who has reached the big 6, kein yirbu, bli ayin hara,etc. Esti made him an elephant cake, and I bought him a roaring elephant to play with. On Monday, he had a birthday party in school. Refuah Shleima to Adina (sinus infection) and Michal (ear infection) and Rucky (plain bad cold). Itchy is going on a ski trip tomorrow with HTC - we'll report when he gets back. Tattie and Mommy are looking forward to our upcoming trip to Passaic to visit the Harary family. Tattie and I have been going out to dinner lately once a week - tonight was the night. We've been going to Taboun - they have lots of veggies for Tattie. If anyone has any other ideas, we are open to suggestions. Tattie is continuing to melt away - he's down about 35 pounds. I think this is it for the news from the home front - not a very busy week. Hope you all are doing well and feeling good. Love, Mommy, a.k.a. Savta.
We Siyum Again
Time to catch up.
A week ago last Sunday, we did a very exciting activity: we cleaned the playroom! Okay, the actual cleaning wasn't very exciting, but the result was. And now that there are not thousands of little legos scattered across the entire floor, the kids actually can and do play down there. And since we finally got that done, Sara Nechama was allowed to finally get her first two-wheeler (with training wheels).
The Tuesday following that, we were once again at a siyum. This time, Yanky gets the mazel tov. His class finished their first mesechta of mishnayos: Berachos. They made a pretty big deal out of it. The siyum was held at school in the evening. The boys each recited a mishna into a microphone in the school beis medrash. Then, we all went down to the lunch room for a warm, fleishig, catered meal. It was even yoshon! There were two speakers and a short video of all of the third grade boys doing whatever it is they do in the gym and in class. After bentching, there was singing and dancing. They even had a man there playing a keyboard, during the meal and during the dancing. This time, siblings weren't invited, so it was just me, Yosef, my mother, Hadassah and Yanky. My father was the lucky one recruited to babysit the others. All in all, it was very nice, but a pretty late night for Yanky, and also for Tzvi who decided to wait up for us.
The next exciting event was this past Shabbos. We had lots of company. First, we knew we were having Davy and a friend over (this turned out to be Eli Greenblatt, in case anyone happens to know who that is). They came Thursday night and stayed till after supper Sunday, although we only actually saw them a fraction of that time. Well, since Davy sort of lives in Baltimore, but most of us other Isenbergs in Baltimore never actually see him (except Yosef who sometimes sees him Sunday mornings), we invited the Shmuvitals over for Friday night to also enjoy his company. It was a very nice meal, especially since Ahuva didn't actually eat the fleishig baby food that according to Avital is extremely gross, but apparently edible to babies. As a matter of fact, I don't think they even opened the container.
Shabbos day, Davy and Eli got to meet lots of family members on the Glazer side. My brother and family were in town for Shabbos, so we invited them to come over Shabbos afternoon and for Shalosh Seudos. Then we arranged for Julie and fam to come over too, so that they could see the NY Glazers also. So, we had an extra 10 people around for Shalosh Seudos. I don't know about Eli, but Davy was pretty unfazed. I guess he's used to lots of people around.
Motzaei Shabbos, I recruited the two ninth graders to dry the Shabbos dishes. No wonder they spent most of the time at my house out of my sight! Actually, in their praise, they did the chore willingly, and I even offered them melave malka afterward. The melave malka brought up an interesting shaila -- Yosef sat down to eat fleishig, Davy was eating pareve, and Eli was eating milchig. Can they bentch with a mezuman? Davy said he happened to be learning this topic in kitzur s"a and knew exactly where to look it up. Turns out that they could, but one of the not-fleishig guys should lead.
Sunday, we got pizza from Eden Cafe in honor of Davy's visit. Considering how well the pizza went over, I think my family would be happy to have Davy over again. :-)
The only other interesting thing I can think of from Sunday was Tzvi's playdate. My sister Elisheva is in town, and I offered one of the kids to go over to my parents' house to spend time with her. Tzvi took me up on it. And I just get a kick out of saying that Tzvi had a playdate with my sister.
And now, I must conclude this blog, because Yanky is looking over my shoulder as I type, and he's said that this has gone way too long. Stay tuned for our exciting vacation adventures. The kids have off of school for an extended weekend this coming . . . well . . . weekend.
A week ago last Sunday, we did a very exciting activity: we cleaned the playroom! Okay, the actual cleaning wasn't very exciting, but the result was. And now that there are not thousands of little legos scattered across the entire floor, the kids actually can and do play down there. And since we finally got that done, Sara Nechama was allowed to finally get her first two-wheeler (with training wheels).
The Tuesday following that, we were once again at a siyum. This time, Yanky gets the mazel tov. His class finished their first mesechta of mishnayos: Berachos. They made a pretty big deal out of it. The siyum was held at school in the evening. The boys each recited a mishna into a microphone in the school beis medrash. Then, we all went down to the lunch room for a warm, fleishig, catered meal. It was even yoshon! There were two speakers and a short video of all of the third grade boys doing whatever it is they do in the gym and in class. After bentching, there was singing and dancing. They even had a man there playing a keyboard, during the meal and during the dancing. This time, siblings weren't invited, so it was just me, Yosef, my mother, Hadassah and Yanky. My father was the lucky one recruited to babysit the others. All in all, it was very nice, but a pretty late night for Yanky, and also for Tzvi who decided to wait up for us.
The next exciting event was this past Shabbos. We had lots of company. First, we knew we were having Davy and a friend over (this turned out to be Eli Greenblatt, in case anyone happens to know who that is). They came Thursday night and stayed till after supper Sunday, although we only actually saw them a fraction of that time. Well, since Davy sort of lives in Baltimore, but most of us other Isenbergs in Baltimore never actually see him (except Yosef who sometimes sees him Sunday mornings), we invited the Shmuvitals over for Friday night to also enjoy his company. It was a very nice meal, especially since Ahuva didn't actually eat the fleishig baby food that according to Avital is extremely gross, but apparently edible to babies. As a matter of fact, I don't think they even opened the container.
Shabbos day, Davy and Eli got to meet lots of family members on the Glazer side. My brother and family were in town for Shabbos, so we invited them to come over Shabbos afternoon and for Shalosh Seudos. Then we arranged for Julie and fam to come over too, so that they could see the NY Glazers also. So, we had an extra 10 people around for Shalosh Seudos. I don't know about Eli, but Davy was pretty unfazed. I guess he's used to lots of people around.
Motzaei Shabbos, I recruited the two ninth graders to dry the Shabbos dishes. No wonder they spent most of the time at my house out of my sight! Actually, in their praise, they did the chore willingly, and I even offered them melave malka afterward. The melave malka brought up an interesting shaila -- Yosef sat down to eat fleishig, Davy was eating pareve, and Eli was eating milchig. Can they bentch with a mezuman? Davy said he happened to be learning this topic in kitzur s"a and knew exactly where to look it up. Turns out that they could, but one of the not-fleishig guys should lead.
Sunday, we got pizza from Eden Cafe in honor of Davy's visit. Considering how well the pizza went over, I think my family would be happy to have Davy over again. :-)
The only other interesting thing I can think of from Sunday was Tzvi's playdate. My sister Elisheva is in town, and I offered one of the kids to go over to my parents' house to spend time with her. Tzvi took me up on it. And I just get a kick out of saying that Tzvi had a playdate with my sister.
And now, I must conclude this blog, because Yanky is looking over my shoulder as I type, and he's said that this has gone way too long. Stay tuned for our exciting vacation adventures. The kids have off of school for an extended weekend this coming . . . well . . . weekend.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
End of vacation
So I officially ended vacation. I though maybe you all would like to know what I did during my precious two weeks off! So I will tell you. Day 1: fly home, pick up Itchy from school, get slurpees Day 2: pick Adina up from school, get Main Pizza Day 3: find out lenscrafters are lying cheatin scumbags, Adina came over, we toveled aluminum pans, went to borders Day 4: made and decorated lego cakes Day 5: friday, so "helped" prepare for shabbos Day 6: hung out with Rucky and Dovi and kids on shabbos Day 7: went to a friend's vort Day 8: went to the museum of science and industry with a friend Day 9: went to Old Orchard, didn't get anything Day 10: got a haircut, hung out with Tovey, made cookies with Rucky Day 11: went to nickle city with a friend and her brother, was really boring, picked up pizza for dinner, made sugar cookies with Mommy Day 12: was friday, so "helped" again to prepare for shabbos Day 13: end of vacation, came back to ny
So I did absolutely nothing with my time :( Oh well.
So I did absolutely nothing with my time :( Oh well.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
i'm baaaackk
bonjourno mi familia! I got back this afternoon. Grazi to Shira and Hodiburger for picking me up and joining me for dinner and grazi to Drs. Rubin for their guide book and tour ideas. 3 days in Roma was just enough. We saw piazzas and fountains and ruins (oh my!)
The first day Elana and I arranged a guided tour of the Jewish ghetto. Our guide was also a great source of info on the kosher stuff, and Jewish community in the area. He even offered us a job for the summer if we wanted to come back and give tours! (Know anyone interested? I'm happy to put in a good word) He even pointed out Donatella Versace's house right outside the old ghetto area.
We walked all over the city, went to so many different sites, ruins, and tourist traps. Went to the Museo Capitallini (bunch of marble statues from ancient Rome), Museo Ebraica (Jewish), Museo of the Roman Forums, and the museum of the vatican too! (alas we didn't see the Beit Hamikdash treasures) We hit Trevi Fountain (both night and day) Tritone Fountain (right down the block from our hotel) and of course there is the sinking boat fountain by the Piazza di Spagna. Walking tours of the Colosseum, Palatine (rich ancient roman neighborhood), Vatican, and a free tour of a few hot spots in the main area of the city. Our guide didn't even seem to think we were nuts for waiting outside at the churches...
It was a lot of fun, and I picked up a few words in Italiano which is always fun. Allorah, mi familia, it's time to hit the sack. bueno notte and arrivederci!
The first day Elana and I arranged a guided tour of the Jewish ghetto. Our guide was also a great source of info on the kosher stuff, and Jewish community in the area. He even offered us a job for the summer if we wanted to come back and give tours! (Know anyone interested? I'm happy to put in a good word) He even pointed out Donatella Versace's house right outside the old ghetto area.
We walked all over the city, went to so many different sites, ruins, and tourist traps. Went to the Museo Capitallini (bunch of marble statues from ancient Rome), Museo Ebraica (Jewish), Museo of the Roman Forums, and the museum of the vatican too! (alas we didn't see the Beit Hamikdash treasures) We hit Trevi Fountain (both night and day) Tritone Fountain (right down the block from our hotel) and of course there is the sinking boat fountain by the Piazza di Spagna. Walking tours of the Colosseum, Palatine (rich ancient roman neighborhood), Vatican, and a free tour of a few hot spots in the main area of the city. Our guide didn't even seem to think we were nuts for waiting outside at the churches...
It was a lot of fun, and I picked up a few words in Italiano which is always fun. Allorah, mi familia, it's time to hit the sack. bueno notte and arrivederci!
Some Thoughts
In light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, a Rashi in this weeks parsha seems very appropriate to point out.
In Perek 7 Pasuk 3 Rashi comments that even though Hashem knew Pharoh would not listen and do teshuva, he still was going to bring the makos to show His strength. "And so is the trait of Hashem. He brings punishments on the nations, idol worshippers, so that the Jews will hear and be fearful."
We wonder why such things happen in the world, with catastrophes that kill tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people. It is for us: to hear and to fear Hashem. With all the public Chilulei Hashem that have occurred in recent weeks and months, be it white collar crimes or moral lapses, we cannot be like Pharoh, rather we should do teshuva and increase the Kiddush Hashem we make in the world.
See, not only Mendy can be deep.
In Perek 7 Pasuk 3 Rashi comments that even though Hashem knew Pharoh would not listen and do teshuva, he still was going to bring the makos to show His strength. "And so is the trait of Hashem. He brings punishments on the nations, idol worshippers, so that the Jews will hear and be fearful."
We wonder why such things happen in the world, with catastrophes that kill tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people. It is for us: to hear and to fear Hashem. With all the public Chilulei Hashem that have occurred in recent weeks and months, be it white collar crimes or moral lapses, we cannot be like Pharoh, rather we should do teshuva and increase the Kiddush Hashem we make in the world.
See, not only Mendy can be deep.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Lets See
We havent posted for a while, so it's time for an Aronin Update. Now, lets see. Uhhh.....Hmmmm. Oh! I know! Michal went to the dentist today... but with all of Yosef and Lisa's stories about dentists, thats not so exciting (no cavities).
Well, none of us are in school, so no news there. We haven't traveled anywhere either, so that's not news.
Umm.... I guess that's why we haven't posted in a while.
Update: Rucky reminded me that we did travel . We went on staycation to Rockford for two days. On day one, we went to a historic house. They are usually closed this time of year, so we got a personal tour! It was fun, and thank G-d the kids didn't break anything. Interesting point: It was built next to an Indian burial mound. Being a kohein, that could be a problem, but I checked it out, and I think it was ok.
Next we went to an indoor playground thing, with the climbing tubes and stuff, that was in the same building as an ice rink. We just missed open skate, but it seems I was the only one who wanted to go ice skating anyway. We were there for like an hour or so, and the kids had a great time, especially Dasi. Who knew a kid that young could be so agile!
Then we went to the hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn. It was very nice. We went to the pool that was a bit on the chilly side (Michal's lips turned blue), but they had a very shallow end (I think it was 2 inches) with kids slides. You should have seen Shalom's face when he slid into the cool water! I got to hang out in the hot tub for a bit.
The next day, we went to the children's museum that Rucky used to go to every Pesach. It was New Years Eve, so beginning at 1 pm they counted down the hour because "It's New Years somewhere!". The kids also made noise makers. (Of course the rule was no using them in the car) After that we headed home.
I'd say the best part of the trip was the food. That's the best part of any trip, the food you bring along. We had the basics: deli, chips, pretzels, Gushers, and canned vegetables. MMM MMM!
And that was our staycation.
Well, none of us are in school, so no news there. We haven't traveled anywhere either, so that's not news.
Umm.... I guess that's why we haven't posted in a while.
Update: Rucky reminded me that we did travel . We went on staycation to Rockford for two days. On day one, we went to a historic house. They are usually closed this time of year, so we got a personal tour! It was fun, and thank G-d the kids didn't break anything. Interesting point: It was built next to an Indian burial mound. Being a kohein, that could be a problem, but I checked it out, and I think it was ok.
Next we went to an indoor playground thing, with the climbing tubes and stuff, that was in the same building as an ice rink. We just missed open skate, but it seems I was the only one who wanted to go ice skating anyway. We were there for like an hour or so, and the kids had a great time, especially Dasi. Who knew a kid that young could be so agile!
Then we went to the hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn. It was very nice. We went to the pool that was a bit on the chilly side (Michal's lips turned blue), but they had a very shallow end (I think it was 2 inches) with kids slides. You should have seen Shalom's face when he slid into the cool water! I got to hang out in the hot tub for a bit.
The next day, we went to the children's museum that Rucky used to go to every Pesach. It was New Years Eve, so beginning at 1 pm they counted down the hour because "It's New Years somewhere!". The kids also made noise makers. (Of course the rule was no using them in the car) After that we headed home.
I'd say the best part of the trip was the food. That's the best part of any trip, the food you bring along. We had the basics: deli, chips, pretzels, Gushers, and canned vegetables. MMM MMM!
And that was our staycation.
Mazal Tov!!!
Shmuly is accepted to University of Cincinnati Pharmacy School! :) We have one option for next year! YAY!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I'm DONE - well almost!
Guess who's done with another semester? Oh yeah - you got it, it's ME! Well actually I'm not exactly done with my semester because I still have one take home final - to create two tax returns, anyone know how? Just kidding because that would be cheating! Today I took my last final in NY, it was a screening exam for accounting. Which means that I have to pass it in order to continue in the accounting major. And I took that today, and I think it went well! Oh and today on my way back from the test, it was talk to random strangers on the train day, or rather it was have random strangers talk to me! People are so weird! And tomorrow I am flying back to chicago. I checked in exactly 24 hours in advance, to the minute - I set an alarm - and I still got A30. Nothing better. Oh well, that's how it goes. So, I guess that wraps it up for me, see you chicagoans soon!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Greetings from the Holy Land
Shalom u'vracha!
Last week I was busy with work - but thankfully - registration is over and the vacation has begun!
I've been all over Yerushalayim, went to Beit Lechem to visit Rachel Imeinu's kever. Yesterday went to Hebron to visit our forefathers/mothers, and of course I've been to the Old City a few times too.
Shabbat at the Rich's was fun and they all send their love. Motzei Shabbat Sruface and I went to the Bozin's in Efrat to be menachem aveil. Today Elana came and we sat in on some of Rabbi Orlofsky's classes, spent time at the Kotel and tomorrow (weather permitting) we're off to Ein Gedi.
Have a great day!
~PM
Last week I was busy with work - but thankfully - registration is over and the vacation has begun!
I've been all over Yerushalayim, went to Beit Lechem to visit Rachel Imeinu's kever. Yesterday went to Hebron to visit our forefathers/mothers, and of course I've been to the Old City a few times too.
Shabbat at the Rich's was fun and they all send their love. Motzei Shabbat Sruface and I went to the Bozin's in Efrat to be menachem aveil. Today Elana came and we sat in on some of Rabbi Orlofsky's classes, spent time at the Kotel and tomorrow (weather permitting) we're off to Ein Gedi.
Have a great day!
~PM
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Tzvi's Siyum
Mazel tov to Tzvi. Today we (Yosef, my mother, the 3 girls, and myself) attended his siyum at school for completing parashas Bereishis. The class sang some songs (including the listing of the name of every parasha and of every mesechta of mishnayos and all the lamed tes melachos along with their translations -- did you know that sosair means unbuilding? -- seriously, though, it was pretty impressive. I know I couldn't list all that by heart.) Then, each boy read and translated one pasuk from the last perek in the parasha. Tzvi did a great job, as did just about all of the other boys too. Then they learned the first pasuk of Noach, then sang some songs, ending with siman tov u'mazel tov and then dancing around the room with the fathers joining in too. Then everyone went downstairs for refreshments. The Rebbi's wife had made a really impressive cake. It was huge, shaped like a sefer Torah, and had each boy's name written on it in frosting, and each boy was served the piece with his name (good thing Tzvi didn't really care about the cake -- due to the short length of his name, his piece was much smaller than, say, the kid named Mordechai Yonah). A good time was had by all.
In other news, I bought a new digital camera for myself and relinquished the old one to the kids. Tzvi and Yanky got new shoes today, and Yanky lost his sixth tooth tonight (or you could call it his seventh if you count the one that was pulled).
In other news, I bought a new digital camera for myself and relinquished the old one to the kids. Tzvi and Yanky got new shoes today, and Yanky lost his sixth tooth tonight (or you could call it his seventh if you count the one that was pulled).
update from mommy
Hi gang,
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Yehudis and Sruly spent Shabbos at the Rich and Goren families in Ramat Beit Shemesh. Just wanted to let you know that Bill Bozin's sister passed away, Baruch Dayan Emes. He is sitting shiva in Efrat and if you want to call to be menachem avel the phone number is 011-972-2-993-4365.
Isenbergs, Ben-Porats, and Aronins in Chicago go back to school tomorrow. Also, I bought myself a collage picture frame and I need cute 5 x 7 pictures of grandkids to fill it. Send me pictures or email them to me and i'll print them out with snapfish.
Mommy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)