Riding the bucking "Ear Infection Bronco"

Today we saw another doctor who informed us that both ears are red- not too red- but red none the less. He too agreed that we can hold off on the antibiotics. So.......we're riding the infection and its a loooong ride and we're getting weary but hoping to yet persevere. I began to administer a concoction of tea-tree, lavender, and olive oil. Its extremely pungent but far more pleasant than the onion juice. We'll see what tomorrow will bring (or tonight for that matter). I did get to miss my Talk'n'Save staff meeting today which meant that I didn't have to have everyone ready and out of the house at quarter to 8. Can't complain about that :)
In between the kvetchiness (n.) I see snippets of a healthy and happy Yisroel Meir. I daven that it should just continue this way. The big boys were pretty well behaved today- Boruch Hashem! (Thank g00dness for small miracles!) Hoping to bring y'all continued good (hopeful!) news. (Yawn)

(On our way to the doctor's office. Yisroel Meir is, of course, in the Baby Bjorn. His favorite place......)

Your wish is my command

Some of the Bubbies requested more videos so, despite the fact that I've already posted today, I present to you..................

Your Nachas

Feel free to kvell now.

Onion Head

Friday night found us with five guests and a hysterical baby. Experience (unfortunately) told me that this baby of ours had an ear infection (again). So off I trekked - mid meal- screaming babe in arms- to the 24 hour health clinic where.........my suspicions were confirmed. Ear infection number 3 in under 5 months. Plech. The upshot of this whole experience was that we were able to benefit from one of Beitar's many community services. I arrived home to be followed by the shabbos medicine distribution service. How cool?! Living in a charedi community has its perks :)
So, the moxypen- provided and prepared by our friendly druzi- sits in my fridge.......untouched.
What can I say? Though I was advised by the doctor to start Yisroel Meir on antibiotics, my antiestablishmentism/mother's intuition got the better of me and I decided to hold off......
3 courses of antibiotics in 4.5 months didnt sit well with me so I opted to try something natural.

(All you anti natural- epidural was made by Hashem too-bring on the drugs-types can stop here. This ain't gonna interest you!)

Onion Juice.

1 tsp onion juice (1/2 onion grated finely)
place over the fire for about 30 sec. (Until it boils)
Allow to cool.
Squirt 1/4 to 1/2 of that into infected ear.

This is not a segula! Its not heebeejeebee- onions have antibacterial properties and are supposed to attack the infection!

Did it work? Its hard to know. What I do know is that he stinks.
Beyond that I'm subject to two different doctor's perceptions.
The doctor on Friday night said that his ear was "Really red".
The doctor this morning told me "There is some redness". He also agreed that I could hold off on the antibiotics for now.
Sounds like improvement to me!

In addition, I have a peeled garlic clove resting on the opening of his ear which is supposed to draw out the fluids. (ya ya, feel free to make fun of me.)

The moxypen sits in the fridge tantalizing and tempting me every time the baby gets kvetchy. "Take me," It says. "Put the poor kid out of his misery". (Or was that my Mom? just kidding ma :) )

Nooooooooo!

This is far from the easy road (I'm tired!) and I hope that in the long run this will be better for Yisroel Meir.

So, we'll have to wait and see but the kid does seem on the up and up.



May Hashem grant him a speedy recovery!

rollin rollin rollin

Once upon a time he resembled a bowling ball........now he IS one. We have officially mastered the art of rolling over and proceed to do so in succession- tummy to back to tummy to back, tummy, back, etc. I can't complain as now my little barrel can entertain himself for much lengthier spans (c'mon, don't you enjoy rolling across the floor?) but cold ceramic tiles aren't exactly conducive to happy trundling. In this video I dragged an area rug into the kitchen so that Yisroel Meir could roll while I cooked. Kudos to friend and coworker "Miriam the Mommy" as well as "Sarah Rochel the Tochter" for showing me how to post it. This wasn't one of YM's happiest moments but you get the idea.......

Soap Box

I have a bone to pick with stores that place their most alluring, enticing, and breakable merchandise in a place that is accessible to MY children. Then, they have the chutzpa to plaster across the front of the store "you break it, you buy it"! Have a little rachmanus, will ya? "So," (or "Nu" as the sabras prefer) "Don't shop with your kids," they respond. Well, when you live in a community that is 63% CHILD, you are bound to have a tyke or two meander into your store- you may as well make it kid friendly! And what about those supermarkets that have OPEN boxes of cookies and chocolates* strategically placed at squirt level? "Price is determined by weight," you say? Ok, Aryeh Leib, please cough up the half cookie that you've already stealthily consumed because Mommy needs to pay for it. Ah, I can also pay a SHEKEL PER COOKIE. That's lovely. And while I'm on the subject, I'd like to publicly decry that mean cashier who shushes my kids when we're on line at the supermarket. I'd like to see how docile YOUR kids are at 4:30 in the afternoon after being shlepped through the entire supermarket (and being remarkably well behaved I must note). Harumph!

*American readers, please note that I refer here to makolets- Israeli mini markets, that are a tad more heimish than ShopRite :)

Wait. Who am I and who's kids are these?

I must be going crazy. Today I had the following conversation with myself (see what I mean?):

Before I go I need my shoes and the baby's coat. Where are they? Humm....not in the salon....not in the playroom.....not in our bedroom......not in the boy's room.......not in the baby's room. Think, think, think.....oh bother*. Lets try this again. Not in the salon, playroom, bedroom, boys room, baby's room. Argh! Trying to remember where I took off my shoes.......right- muddy-didn't want to bring them in the house. Outside. score! Baby's coat.......he fell asleep while we were out-put him straight into his- crib- right. OK. Shoes are on my feet, the baby has his coat, My head is attached. Lets go. **

Maybe I have spit-up on the brain, perhaps its my 12am, 2am, and 4am rendezvous with Yisroel Meir. Maybe, despite the fact that in my mind I'm still fresh out of seminary, In actually turning 27 soon. Where did the time go? I'm not sure. Wherever it went, perhaps I can find my brain there too.........

*A famous "Whinnie-the-Poo"ism

** I used no poetic license when recounting that soliloquy. It really happened..........

PB&J Anyone? How about a Red Tomato?

So, anyway, this is what happens when you get a phone call in the middle of making Peanut Butter 'n' Jelly sandwiches..........

And for your reading (and banging your head against the wall) pleasure, an Excerpt from a conversation with my 2 year old.....
Tonight I read a book to Aryeh Leib that had a picture of a tomato.

Me: What's that, Lubi?

AL: That's a Tomato.
Me: Right! And what color is the tomato?

AL: Um.....Tomato!

Me: Yes, I know its a tomato but what color is the tomato?

AL: Mommy, I told you already, its TOMATO!

Me: Aha. Lubi, that's a red tomato, right?

AL: Yup.

Me: So, what color is it?

AL: Its Tomato!!!!!!!!!!
Me: Oooookay.........

The Joys of Boys

Did I ever mention that I'm ready for a girl? The other day Aryeh Leib waltzed into the kitchen with his fist clenched. (I should have known.....) "Mommy, look!" "What's that, Aryeh Leibi?" I asked. "Its a skyewdiva," he answered. Perplexed, I extended my hand so that he could show me. Without flinching, he dumped a dead bee in my hand.



They are Boys! They are mud pie baking, dirt flinging, bug stomping, dump a dead bee in my hand boys! Please come visit us but be sure to look before you sit. Look before you sit on a chair lest you sit atop a mud creation. Please look before you sit on our toilets- otherwise you may just fall in.

Oh where is my sugar and spice? I know, it was dumped on the floor because it makes for great skating.



Little boys. Quick close the diaper, no you can't play with knives, please do NOT decapitate that lizard, little boys.

To my future daughters- in- law: I will try my best to tame them but I'm working with very raw materials here. They have big hearts and they love to help their Mommy. I can't promise that they'll know how to fold towels properly but I'll do my best to guide them into mentchen.

Beached Whale

Didn't get a thing done today. We are in the midst of a milestone. We're almost there but not quite. Yisroel Meir has started rolling from his back to his tummy BUT he hasn't figured out how to pull his arm out from under himself which leaves us with, effectively, a beached (and angry) YM. Usually I can get about 10 minutes of activity time (quick start a load of laundry- do the dishes-make lunch-time) out of Yisroel Meir before he starts to melt. I place him on his mat, tummy side up, and he takes out every ounce of aggression (the kind that builds up when he wants something now and I'm in the middle of bathing the big boys) on that poor stuffed hanging giraffe. With our little milestone-in-progress, even that is impossible. He gets stuck, lets out a "Yopp" (for the significance of that word, see "Horten Hears a Who" by Dr. Seuss. A must read.) and I come rescue him. 2 second later he's wailing (or is it whaling?) again. This happens five times in succession within a period of 10 minutes. Argh! Yisroel Meir, get with the program! Either figure out how to get that arm unstuck or don't roll onto your tummy!

Baruch Hashem for Brothers

Cold today though it was, brrrr, my boys and I decided to bundle up, brave the cold, and hit the parks. Apparently we were the only ones with this brilliant idea because the parks were E-M-P-T-Y! That's fine- more toys for us. Twasn't the most social of afternoons for the mommy but the boys had a blast. Yitzchok Zevi and Aryeh Leib laughed (and I cringed) as they gave each other whiplash on the teeter-totter. Then Yitzchok Zevi looked thoughtful (or was he just dizzy from the teeter-totter?) and said,

"Ya know, Mommy, Baruch Hashem I have a brother."

(Can I get that on tape????)

"Ya know why? Because otherwise, I wouldn't have anyone to play with on a day like today. I mean, when I was the first and I was the only kinderlach in our family, the only one that I had to play with was you."

From the mouths of Babes

This week was the tziun (yhartzeit) of Rachel Imainu, Mama Rochel. Yitzchok Zevi came home with a picture of Kever Rochel and LOTS to discuss.

Yitzchok Zevi: Right Mommy, Rachel was veetair to her sister, Leah?

("Veetair" basically means 'to volunteer of onesself or one's possessions'. Apparently there is no single word in the English language for the word "veetair"- somewhat indicative of American culture, no? But I digress.......)

Me: That's right, Yitzchok Zevi. Even though Rachel was supposed to marry Yaakov, she instead arranged for her sister Leah to marry him.

YZ: So, who did Rachel marry? The Rasha, Eisav?

Me: No, in the end, Rachel got to marry Yaakov too.

YZ: Na uh, there is no such thing that an Abba can marry two Mommies (He actually said this in hebrew 'Ain kazeh davar.....")

Me: Good point, Yitzchok Zevi- Lets talk to Abba about this on Shabbos (heh heh passin the buck)

YZ: Right Mommy, now Rachel Imainu is with Hashem?

Me: Yup

YZ: And so is Leah and Yaakov and Avraham and Sorah?

Me: uh hu

YZ: Right, when Moshiach comes they will all be with us again?

Me: I believe so.

YZ: (whining- and with utmost sincerity) Mommyyyyy, when's Moshiach gunna come already?????

Lubi (stops munching on his snack) responds, "Tomorrow, Zebi."

Amen!
Good Shabbos :)

Potty Training- Update

We are making serious progress in the potty training department. It seems that AL was very aware of when he needed to go, he just opted not to do it in the right place. So........I decided to bribe him. I began chanting what has become our new family mantra- "When ya make in the potty, ya get a treat!" I've said it so many times, Aryeh Leib could repeat it in his sleep. So, when I saw that "I'm getting ready to make" look on his face I said, "Lubi, when ya make in the potty...." "Ya get a treat!" he answered, and ran to the bathroom! Since then its been pretty much smooth sailing, poo poo (no pun intended). The deal in our house is he who is in the midst of potty training gets 2 taffies for himself and the privilege of dispensing one taffy to his brother. Yitzchok Zevi is rather miffed that he doesn't get taffies for making on the potty. I pointed out that I don't either and he was somewhat mollified.

I was SO proud of Aryeh Leib. We had the following exchange:

Me: Lubi, you are getting to be such a big boy!!!!

Lubi: I'm not big

Me: But, Lubs, you are big- you make on the potty!

Lubi: No, Mommy, I'm not big.

Me: So what are you, Lubi?

Lubi: I'm little

Me: And who's big (I'm expecting to hear "mommy" or "abba")

Lubi: Zebi. Zebi is big, I'm little.

Anyone who has a message they'd like to brainwash into their kids, I have a 4 year old who I'm willing to hire out.