Snow Day Fun Day

So today school was canceled on account of the blizzard! My roommate Amy, and I went to central park to hike in the snow! It was really fun. We met some random people building a really cool snow fort, and we took a picture with them. So the picture below is of Amy, me, Shannon and Michael (complete strangers). There is also a picture of the snowman we made on a park bench! Enjoy! I know I did!

Chanukah in Baltimore

Just Because

First Night
Shalom takes the picture

Such Loving Sisters

Hadassah and Itchy jamming

Infested!

Some of you may have already heard that we have had hamsters join our household.

Have you heard of Zhu Zhu pets yet? My kids first saw them at my sister Janice's house, where her daughter had gotten one for a b-day present in August. Apparently they first heard about them on a trip to the zoo where there was a whole display about them.

So, when it was Shifra's and Sara Nechama's chance to pick out b-day presents, they too chose Zhu Zhu pets. For that occasion, we purchased Jilly and Sophie, plus some equipment to go along with them. Oh, yes, and two baby hamsters too, to go along with one of the pieces of equipment, which, cleverly for those Zhu Zhu marketers, was a double stroller. So that added Snickle Fritz and Baby Cakes to the collection.

For those of you who have not yet seen these creatures, they run around a flat surface on wheels. If they bump into something, it will press their nose, and they will "say" something, and they will also turn around and continue moving in another direction. They keep moving for about a minute or two as long as they don't get stuck or flip over. They are kind of cute, and if I had to have pets in my household, I'm definitely glad it's these hamsters as opposed to something live. (As a matter of fact, Tzvi's teacher offered to send home a fish for every boy, but gave parents the option to opt out first, which we did. Tzvi, and 2 other of his classmates, tend their fish in the classroom instead of having brought them home.)

Now that Chanuka is here, another occasion for gifts, the boys have decided to get in on the Zhu Zhu fad too. So now we've got Rocky and (no, not Bullwinkle) Bamboo.

Featured below are Jilly, in pink, and Rocky, new, still in box.

Yanky's First Glasses

This blog should have been written a few months ago, but I just didn't get around to it (although Chaife can tell you that this weekend we did get our round Tuit). But I figured better late than never.

Anyway, so around the time just before school was starting, I took Yanky for his annual eye exam. B"H, his prescription is about the same as last year, and we got ready to pick out new glasses.

But, it turned out, we had gotten our last pair, Yanky's first, less than a year ago -- about a week less -- but as insurance goes, if it hasn't been a year, you are not yet eligible for a new pair. So, we left without new glasses and figured we'll make our way to the glasses place in a couple weeks.

Of course, what with getting used to the school routine and all, not to mention R"H and Y"K, we hadn't quite gotten around to going back for glasses when, one Wed. afternoon, Yanky came home from school with his glasses in his pocket. In two pieces. Split right across the bridge.

Our eye dr./glasses place does not have late hours on Wednesdays, and Yanky only got home around 5pm. So I tried going to the place where we had gotten his original glasses, where Wed. is their late day, but alas, they had moved and I could not find them in their purported new location. So, Thurs., Yanky went to school with his glasses done up together very fashionably with a blue paperclip across the middle. Then, we went to the eye dr./glasses place and ordered a new pair, which, B"H, they were able to get in before Sukkos started even though we hadn't given them much time.

Happy Chanuka to all!

Here are some pictures as to what we have been up too...

1) Our Menorah

2) Sruly making his favorite food (margarine and sugar)

3) My USB man hanging from the computer

4) Sruly enjoying yummy latkes I made for Chanuka (they were very good!)