As a part of the passover cleaning, I’m going to clean and organize the kids’ rooms … well we do that all the time. But this time will be more serious..
So today I’ll start with the girls’ room…
I’m quite sure some of the stuff will go straight to the trash.
I just don’t get from where they get everything!?!?!?!? I didn’t buy them all these toys!
Now we are really getting into passover mood here. The kids are singing passover songs, asking about this and that.. happy and exited.. They remember a little from passover last year – but not that much.
This year we are gonna have guests.. we’re gonna be altogether either 10 or 12 people.. and five of the guests are going to stay over.
I’m making long lists of what we need to buy, and for the cooking.. what to do and how many days ahead I can do them. Because to do everything at the same day would be impossible. I’m also thinking of handcrafts for the kids to do, and picnics … hey they are supposed to have fun when they are off from kindergarten.
Pretty exciting though.. Holiday preparations are nice … if you have enough time for everything.. which I don’t have.. but still.. 
Tomorrow is the last day at kindergarten for the kids – before the 2,5 weeks long Passover vacation. So from Tuesday they will be home “helping” me..
Today I started baking the first passover cookies.. to fill the freezer up. And after picking up the kids at kindergarten we went to buy more potatoflour and coconut. Our four-year-old managed to tell the entire story about the plagues of Egypt, Moses on mt Sinai, and biur chametz etc. to the cashier in ONE minute!!
Our house is now officially free from pacifiers! Our 17 monhts old girl quit about a week ago and she seems to be fine without. The first couple of days she kept looking for it, and asking for it… but no tears – no problems falling asleep. And now she doesn’t ask for it any longer. I was a bit worried that we would have a problem today – since some other kids at our congregation have pacifiers. But she really didn’t care at all. She is totally over it! Yeay!!
For us 17 months has been proved as a very good age for quitting to use pacifiers… We really never had problems with it… No tears or hard feelings… unlike stories I’ve heard about other, older kids, who really had a hard time getting used to life without pacifiers..
17 months is the age when you can easily pretend that you can’t find the pacifier.. and they will get that you don’t find it. But they still don’t understand that you were the one who hid it.. and they don’t understand you can go to the super to buy a new… and they get over it very fast. Perfect!!
Got the idea to write about this at Joy’s Pacifier Patch
Dude and I decided already months ago, that by the time I finish this semester – I’m gonna take a break from my studies.. For a year – or two, or a few years, or many years, or forever… We don’t know.
It makes me feel so bad when I see the laundry piles growing, the house getting dirtier.. the half painted kitchen.. things that I wanted to do with the kids for so long now – but I don’t have time. Lack of energy.. bad sleep.. I just can’t take it any more. This is not how we want it to be.
Dude is very busy too with work and studies and he is the one who is doing what he really wants to do.. he is the one our income is depending on.. He is the one who actually has to continue with what he is doing.. continue being freakishly busy for the next few years.
I want to cook, bake, keep the house clean and tidy, and still have time to be in the playground with the kids – still have time to do handcraft with them in the afternoon after kindergarten. I don’t want to put our son to sleep early – not because he needs to sleep early – but because we need to study early.
I don’t want to skip the vacuumcleanining today and think I’ll do it some other day instead – just because I have no time to do it. I don’t want to postpone cleaning the frigde until the food is walking out by itself.
So there you go.. I’m going back to be “only” wife and mother.. taking care of our family, our house… everything. I know I’m gonna love it!! That’s how I really want it to be!!
I can’t say we aren’t happy now.. Because we are.. We are the happiest family in the entire world!! But no matter how happy we are it can always get even better!!
I told our four-year-old today.. that “When summer comes mommy will not study anymore.” I tell you.. the kid was almost dancing… He is only four - but he understands that mommy is gonna be happier and funnier that way…
Only another two months to go with school first.. And then I’ll be free!! – for as long as we feel that’s the right thing.
What a coincidence..
Today when we went to the doctor we happened to bump into somebody who the kids know from kindergarten.. some teacher or helper or whatever.. She didn’t work there a lot.. just as stand-in once in a while..
Now.. when you bump into someone who is supposed to know both of your kids.. don’t you expect them to treat your kids equally?. Now this woman said a short hello to one of the kids.. and talked a lot with the other one.. and kept telling me how cute and nice and wonderful.. etc.. I don’t get this kind of behavior.. from somebody who is supposed to be pedagogic and work with kids.. to just give one of them all the attention and the other one is standing there.. thinking. Hey.. you’re supposed to know me too!!
Well.. might be that it is true.. one of our kids is more social and open.. cute.. easy to like.. has that “I’m a doll.. take me home” – look. But hey.. there is nothing wrong with the other one.. Maybe not as social.. maybe not as talented at “making people just love you”.. But hey.. nothing wrong.. still a wonderful personality and worth just as much respect and attention.
What I find is wrong here.. is when an adult.. pedagogic(or supposed to be) kindergarten teacher or helper – keeps treating the kids differently.. I tell you she is not the only one.. This happens all the time. And I feel so sorry for the kid who gets less attention.
Myself.. I can only make sure to do my best to treat them maybe not equally meaning “exactly the same way” because they are different personalities.. but equally in the way that I don’t give one more attention then the other one.. I’m not more interested in one than in the other.. But with other people there is really not much you can do.. more than wish they could think before talking.. THINK – before they make one kid feel loved and wanted and cute.. while the other one gets nothing.. Everybody above age of ten should know better!!!
Phew.. I think I managed to write this post without even telling who is who of the kids..
And the coincidence.. I happened to read Treating children equally at Joy’s when I came home from the doctor..
Now code brown emergency.
…fruit flies like banana..
Only two weeks left to finish everything for pesach.. and I didn’t start yet. I don’t know if I will start.. but somehow it’s gonna be ok anyway.. We’ll have a wonderful Erev Pesach with a bunch of guests I don’t even know… That’s how it is every year. And that’s how we like it. It is nice to learn to know new people.. and it is nice to se other peoples first experience of Jewish holidays celebrated in Israel.
Cute three-year-old puppy eyes girl has a bad ear infection – again!! I don’t know what to do any longer.. It has been coming and going for weeks.. or even months now.. doctor said it doesn’t look pretty.. lots of fluid behind the ear drum. Poor little girl 
Now she will be on a ten days treatment.. and then follow up at the doctors’ to see if it helped..
Did I ever say there is no time to get bored.. not in this house..
I finally got the schedule for the rest of this semester.. so now I know pretty much what I have to do. It doesn’t look pretty.. I’ll just try to keep swimming.. and by May 21st I’m supposed to be done… and back.. and free!!
At the moment I spend almost all my time – when the kids are asleep and I am not – to study. and that’s why you don’t hear much from me.
I have already a long list of things I want to do when I am free in the evenings again..
Don’t worry.. I WILL be back.
Good news.. we have a new printer!! …makes it easier with the essay.
I need to do this …
And this!!!
And write about me, myself and I and mine and this and that. I need to write a bunch of crap – to feel free. …to start a sentence with “…” to break boundaries…
…to get away from the strict rules…
I understand the boundaries are needed.. I don’t have a problem with it..
I just can’t write only that.. I need to write an “I” and a “me” and “I think”.. and “Do you know what happened today” …
These cookies are absolutely yummy!
Oh – I need lots of coffee to be able to handle this.
Ok.. done!! phew!
Back to the essay!
Dude said to me a few days ago that he was starting to get into passover mood.. We had a very late winter this year.. but now the spring is finally coming.. We are past purim already, and the kids are starting to practicing passover songs at kindergarten..
Dude is already teaching Em to sing Ma nishtana. Well she is not the youngest.. but the youngest can’t really sing yet, so this time Em will do it..
So I guess all these spring feelings, Purim is over- feelings, singing passover songs- feelings are altogether in some way making dude feel he is in passover mood.
So I told him: Excellent! Then come on - help me to get started with the passover cleaning!!.. (that’s the “go over every single inch of the house with a toothbrush”-kind of cleaning)
His response was… well I don’t even remember.. but this was obviously not what he meant with passover mood…
So he gets to sing nice songs with the kids and I get to clean.. ??? nonono.. I wouldn’t think so..
I’m also getting into passover mood.. We’ve got tons of chametz to get out of the house before passover.. And I’m not the kind of person who would throw food away if there are other solutions.. so I’ll just have to plan everything very well from tomorrow.. and slowly finish everything just in time for passover.. but not one day to early either…
Kitchen is still half painted since November (??) …all the sudden I didn’t have time to finish and then the winter came and it’s not really recommended to paint when it’s raining.. duh! So it looks horrible.. The girls room and our bedroom need to be painted to.. this should be done before passover. Essay.. my essay.. oh no again.. well I’ll have to deal with it.. I will.. that’s the most important now.. Oh no.. spring is coming.. all the sudden it is hot outside – and inside.. wash winter blankets, putting them away.. oh no.. now I’m sweating.. oh no.. the kids are sweating.. oh no again. the kids are bigger than last year.. no clothes that fit.. o nonono.. please wait.. stop .. nooooo!! Please passover.. can’t you move a little bit forward.. let’s say end of April.. deal??
So.. passover mood is all about singing Ma nishtana and Dayenu .. right?
And then you get there.. painted walls.. clean house.. Essay (hopefully) done.. and you suddenly get a bigger perspective. He took us out from the slavery in Egypt.. and I… I keep freaking out over this “little” tiny “oh no – passover is getting closer” thingie..
Tomorrow I will sing Ma nishtana with Em
Today we celebrated dude’s birthday..
The kids and I got up early to prepare everything… The kids had made him marzipan candy in different colors.. and he also got some candybars that the kids wrapped all by themselves.. I thought it would be a good idea letting them give him candy as birthday present.. because they can actually understand how much he appreciates it in a whole other way than if they would give him something “boring”. And I’ve got to say it worked out very well.. the kids were excited, and so was dude.
Well.. I guess dude is describing every single moment of this day in his blog so maybe I shouln’t make any effort..
We had a nice and fun day… ate way to much unhealthy stuff.. but hey – it’s his birthday only once a year.
And now a picture of the happy birthday boy!! And everything he is wearing/holding on this picture are birthday presents..
And a picture of the very very very old couple… 54 years old.
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