blogging stam (just because)

Nothing too exciting to report. I just happened upon this yummy scene and felt compelled to share it with all of you.....

I could eat him- I could just eat him.

We installed an air conditioner today. I felt a little funny getting it since its such a luxury in these parts. Jason reminded me that last summer I made some rather convincing arguments as to why an A/C was absolutely crucial to my continued existence. I pointed out that I was 9 months pregnant at the time and could NOT be held responsible for anything said, insinuated, or thrown during such a time. Either way, we have it now and I'm sure we'll enjoy using it.

Yitzchok Zevi wanted to know why it was mounted so close to the ceiling. I didn't answer his question. I just stopped what I was doing, narrowed my eyes, and stared at him. And then he understood. "For the same reason that your candlesticks are really high up, huh?" uha.

What's In a Name?

I used to think that A Husband and Wife calling each other "Mommy" and "Abba" (respectively, of course. A Husband should NEVER call his wife "Abba"- if you know what I mean.) was so old school.
Now I'm pondering the potential plausibility and point of this popular practice........
What do y'all think?

Back to Business (I mean Kollel)

Bain Hazmanim is (too quickly) drawing to a close. We're having so much fun, we don't want it to end! All of the boys are enjoying the extra time with Abba. Instead of rushing off to J-town at (or is it before?) the crack of dawn, he has breakfast with them in the morning, gives them baths, and reads them pre-bedtime books. Needless to say Mommy is enjoying the extra help!
And of course Abba is having a blast too.
Could ya tell?

Move over Masechet Brachot, its time for "Franklin is Bossy". Of course, one could argue that "Franklin is Bossy" is a fine work on character development and EVERY aspiring Torah scholar must set aside time for that. So........we could get used to this.

Even Yisroel Meir has grown attached to his Abba......

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Ever the devoted Kollel wife, I don't (Chas V'chalila!) want to (Chas V'shalom!) give off the impression that I don't (Chas V'karpas!) wan't my husband to forever remain sequestered in a discreet corner of some nameless hovel in the heart of meah she'arim pouring over volume after volume........its just that I kinda like having him around.

So, I'll send him off with a smile (even if its a bit forced) and start counting the days till summer bain hazmanim!

Posting on Pesach

Happy Pesach! There are so many exciting things happening at the Svei's, I couldn't resist posting.
Aryeh Leib started wearing Tzitzis in honor of the chag (and in honor of AL being potty trained- POO POO)
Yisroel Meir has started doing exciting tricks.
He knows how to laugh on command......


and how to shake his head.....


All of the important things in life :)

Yesterday was the first day of (Eretz Yisroel) chol hamoed. We decided to take a trip to the kotel fulfilling the mitzva of Aliyah l'regel (visiting the site of the temple during the 3 main holidays- pesach among them). Our first stop upon reaching the kotel was (can you guess?) the bathroom. The following exchange transpired between YZ and myself as we exited the bathroom:

YZ: Mommy, why did evil people destroy the beis hamikdash many years ago?
Me: Because the Jewish people didn't listen to Hashem and weren't nice to each other.
YZ: Oh. Well, how come they didn't destroy the bathrooms?

Things that make ya go hmmm..............

A happy and Kosher to one and all!

Chicken Anyone?

Some days I have to rack my brain to find something that is blog worthy. (Only the best for y'all, sports fans.) Other days, there is so much goings on, its hard to know where to begin.......
The party is officially over. Yisroel Meir no longer reigns in our home. Our local despot-in-diapers, our tyrannical tot, has abdicated the Svei scepter and has (finally) assumed his rightful position as bouncing baby boy. Thank you, Dr. Ferber.
In other news, our local ENT has recommended prophylactic antibiotics for YM. Ever the antiestablishmentist (is that a word?), I plan to take him for a second opinion. My inclination is to skip the chemicals and just get the kid tubes. However, since last time I checked, I'm not an ENT, or even a plain ol' Dr. for that matter, I think I'll defer to a professional. And if he doesn't agree with me, well I'll just find one that does. ;)
Is anyone interested in a tray or 40 of shnitzel? This was a classic case of "stupid American". We ordered chicken and meat through a special pre-Pesach sale. Minimum order for shnitzel was eight trays. So, dumb American that I am, I wrote on the order form "8". Well apparently it meant that you can order in increments of 8 trays. So, if you want 8 trays, you write on the order form "1"......................
Meanwhile, I'm exhausted. This is what was happening at the Svei's this morning at 6:20. (note: They are ALREADY dressed). Its been a loooooong day. G'nite everybody!

Pesach is a comin'

Spring fever has hit the Svei household. Pesach cleaning is in full swing as we roll up our sleeves (only to the elbow, please) and get a little dirty. (Of course, Yisroel Meir will probably grace us with his own kind of fever as soon as he finishes this round of antibiotics but I digress....)

A HUGE Mazal Tov to Tanta Leeba and (too be) Uncle Ezer!!! I would post a picture here but I'm afraid of being lynched by the kallah. We are so excited for your Wedding! We are also very excited about going to Target. Jason is baffled by this Target phenomenon.

You want to take a very expensive plane ride so that you can shop in a cheap store?

Uh-ha.

Speaking of phenomenons, we've found an interesting one in regards to YM. Things that would cause many babies to cower and cry, YM finds hysterical. Yitzchok Zevi derives special pleasure in scaring the dickens out of Aryeh Leib, growling and barking at the top of his lungs. Once, in an effort to get his daily dose of little brother terrorizing, YZ did the same to YM as well. Yisroel Meir, totally unfazed thought it was the funniest thing in the world. The louder Yitzchok Zevi barked, the harder YM laughed. Then they both started barking at each other......

Always A Party

Would anyone like a really clean rock? My washing machine doesn't. "I'm just gunna put it in my pocket, Mommy" Says Aryeh Leib as we walk through the park. "Please don't, Aryeh Leibi, its going to end up in the washing machine." "Nu-uh (I wonder if you can find that word in the Webster's dictionary...). I'll take it out before I take off my pants."....

......clang clang thud clang clang......

I guess that's not as bad as my friend who's son put a plastic toy in the oven.

Yeah, never a dull moment.

Yisroel Meir was supposed to be ferberized this week. Instead he's on antibiotics. I'm thinking of starting MAEI (Mothers Against Ear Infections). When is this madness going to end?????

We have an appointment with the ENT on Wednesday. I'd really like to see a homeopath but Jason says I've wasted too much money on the heebeejeebee stuff. It aint like the conventional options have been so much more effective, eh?

EVERYONE has colds but spring is definitely on the horizon. We know this because last summer, the municipality started building a park right outside of our building. All work came to an abrupt halt around Rosh Hashanah time. We spent the whole winter gazing longingly at this half-park........waiting and wondering. Two days ago the park came to life again as we watched the workers pouring the asphalt! Forget the park- we are having a blast watching the workers.

Anyone still reading this thing?

Goodness. I think this has become one of those blogs that spends half the time apologizing for never blogging and the other half of the time kvetching about never having time to blog. Those kind of blogs annoy me and being the author of one of those kind of blogs annoys me even more since the question of the day (from many people) is inevitably, "So, did you blog today?" I find myself beginning conversations, "No, I didn't blog today....." in an effort to preempt the questions. Its kind of the same feeling as when you are pregnant, already a week overdue, and everyone you speak to has the same question. Don't know what question that is? Then you must never have been overdue......

My pathetic posting practices aside, the Svei's are doing great, B"H! Yitzchok Zevi had his "letter party" last week. Only "Abbas" were invited to this shindig. He actually got Jason to skip part of his Friday morning learning schedule to join him at the party. Yitzchok Zevi must really rate because there ain't nothin that gets Jason out of his beis medrish on a Friday morning (except maybe a trip to the orthopedist....oops).

Aryeh Leib's potty training has been an endless process. The little booger has us wrapped around his little finger sooooo tight. As soon as we try to phase out the treats, he regresses until we bring them back full force. Bubby doesn't like our methods- she says it reminds her of dog training. I told her that I don't mind a little barking from Aryeh Leib if it means that I have less laundry at the end of the day.

And Yisroel Meir continues to be the WORST sleeper in the WORLD. We just finished 4 reflexology sessions in an effort to drain YM's ears (and I'm not asking anyone's opinion on this issue so all less-than-positive-comments can be kindly omitted). We hope to see results sometime in the next few weeks. Basically, we suspect that part of his difficulty sleeping stems from ear discomfort which is an outgrowth of repeated (endless....) ear infections. Ear infections breed in fluids that get stuck in the Eustachian tube(which apparently YM has alot of) so........ we hope it'll help. If not, the kid is getting ferberized.

Bubby and Zaidy are visiting this week - a good time is being had by all- especially the boys who have succeeded in conning Zaidy into reading book after book after book........

Today was Shushan Purim. Basically that meant that all the drunken Beitar men hobbled onto a bus to get drunk again at their parent's seudas in Yerushalayim. The only people in Beitar today were duds like us. Under normal circumstances Jason would have learned on a regular schedule today but since his parents were here (and his kollel- in Jerusalem- was in the middle of getting drunk) he decided to spend the afternoon with the family. I had to suppress an evil grin as he sat in the park that was incidentally RIGHT OUTSIDE of his old Yeshiva.......yeah, he was squirming. It was right funny.

Whew! That was alot of blogging! I'll try not to let it go to my head and will (bli neder) do my utmost to post again (sometime) in the near future. (Did I mention 'bli neder'?)

Here are the boys in their purim costumes (Thanks Grandma!). t'isnt the best pic of my boys but you get the idea.....

Just stoppin by

I'm stttttttarting to lllllllllose it........

I nnnnneed my baby to sllllllllleep.

No energy to be creative. Just stopped by for a second to say hello and to let you know that- other than the lack of sleep- we are doing great, B"H.

Jason's cast is officially off. He's slowly getting back his range of motion and will be in an air cast for the next 6 weeks. Its pretty funny watching my prim and proper hubby, who never even answers the door untucked, walkin around in sneaks. Looks like he's on his way to shoot some hoops (or not).

The boys continue to be yummy. The big one's actually sleep. I like that. I'm in the midst of registering AL for Chaider for next year. Scarry.

Yitzchok Zevi is almost finished learning the entire alef bais. The rebbe has them sing the letters to the tune of "oifen pripichik". It gives me chills every time as 'oifen pripichik' is a yiddish song about children (presumably in the ghetto?) learning alef bais from their Rebbe. Then I get all emotional about the continuity of the people of Israel and how lucky we are to be living in a time where we can serve G-d freely, and how special it is to live in Israel, etc. etc. etc.

And Yitzchok Zevi just gives me this funny look wondering what's so emotional about the alef bais???

Yisroel Meir crawls really fast now and gets into everything. You'd think it would tire him out......oh well.

Also, I'd like to publicly apologize for not crediting my sister with the feet picture idea. She was offended, apparently. I thought about mentioning it before, Rache, but you said that you lifted the idea from somewhere else so I figured it'd be funny to say "I lifted this idea from my sister who lifted it from somewhere else." Anyway, we have different feet in our picture ;)

Its 1:30 AM and I'm off to bed (as is YM).

Hoping y'all are doing well.

Thanks for putting up with my sporadic blogs.

(Yawn)

G'nite!

Renegade Blogger

I know, I know- I've been a very bad blogger. Wadaya gunna do? Punish me by not commenting? I really don't have such great excuses other than the fact that my baby doesn't sleep normally and so, whenever he does sleep, I feel compelled to do something productive (not that talking to all of y'all out there in the blogosphere isn't productive but....) and I can't justify 'playing' at the computer when there's loads and loads of laundry, and dishes to be done. Sorry :)

Anyway, Lots has happened in the last 3 weeks!

Grandma, Tanta Bachie (Otherwise known as Rachel. What do you want from people who turn "Aryeh Leib" into "Lubi"???) and cousin Gavi came to visit. We had such a graet time! Grandma was supposed to visit by herself but then we begged her to bring Gavi too. Rachel came by default. (JK, bache :) ) It was really such a special visit and we were so sad to say goodbye.


Aryeh Leib is, poo poo (no pun intended)(didn't I use that line already?) officially potty trained. He even wears underware to bed! I feel like I'm livin the good life- only changing one tushy now. Speaking of one tushy, I still haven't switched to cloth diapers yet. I'm such a woos. I'm gunna do it one of these days (for sure before the next time I blog ;) ) What else......Yisroel Meir has 2 teeth. Had I written this post 3 days ago I would have reported 3 teeth but the third has mysteriously disappeared into the recesses of YM's gums. I'm genuinely stumped!


Jason's cast is due off tomorrow. To be a bit more accurate, Jason has an appointment with the orthopedist tomorrow. It is highly likely that his cast will be removed but we won't know for sure until the orthopedist examines him. Calling all yidishe mamas- please have a little extra kavuna for the husband when saying your daily round of sefer tehillim. If the orthopedist decides to recast him, I think he may actually cry.

Yitzchok Zevi continues to make us laugh with his antics . He also continues to prove to me that I have to be careful what I say in front of him since he doesn't miss a beat. In a fit of frustration, I said to YZ "You are such a punk!". Today AL angered YZ (for one reason or another- though I don't think that YZ actually needs a reason to terrorize AL. I believe he thinks its his right as an older brother. What do you say to that, Rachel?). Yitzchok Zevi wacked Aryeh Leib and yelled, "You are such a punk!". Good thing I'm American. They don't know what a punk (read: pay, vav, nun, kuf) is in chaider. At least he won't get me into trouble there.

I'm off to bed. On the way I'll try to deposit my baby into his crib. If that doesn't work I'll just bring him into my bed. YAWN! Yiddishe Mama's, please also have kavuna that my baby starts sleeping like a baby, and not like a newborn. He's really cute but I see him WAY more often than I should.....

Here's a pic of my boys and Gavi. Come visit us again soon, Gavi! (You can come too, Bache :) )


Shavua and Chodesh Tov!

Hello Again

Wow. Its been SO long since I last blogged. No, critics, we are not noticing a pattern developing here. Its just that.........so much has been going on and I simply couldn't justify blogging when I had so many running-of-the-house type things to do especially since I now have zero help from the husband and, of course, I had to sleep at some point. So I figured, since I have a baby sleeping on me right now anyway, and I can't do dishes or fold laundry or cut up fruits and veggies or organize my kitchen cabinets or or or or.......................I may as well talk to y'all!

Poor poor husband. This broken ankle is really taking the kishkas out of him. He went back to yeshiva today for the first time (in almsot 3 weeks!!!) and came home a shmate. He has 3 more weeks in the cast. For someone who is always running everywhere because there is so so much to do and so little time, having to take it slow and steady is like puncturing a beach ball. Deflated. Limp (pardon the pun).

It snowed last week! Snow in Israel is quite a scene. Israeli's don't quite know what to do with it. I took Aryeh Leib to gan to find his ganenet standing just outside the yard. She was terrified to walk though the blanket of snow that covered the grass. "Isn't this dangerous?" She asked me. "Not where I come from," I answered. "Ice, maybe, but snow? On grass?" "You mean that you are prepared to walk though here with a baby in your arms?" "Yup!" She watched in horor as Aryeh Leib and I (and Yisroel Meir of course) hopped and skipped all the way to the entrance of the gan. She was convinced enough to follow us- ever so gingerly- though the yard. Those crazy Americans..........

And the potty training saga continues. Aryeh Leib wore underpants the entire afternoon. Yitzchok Zevi is rather indignant about the whole thing. He doesn't think it fair that AL is big enough to wear underpants. I had to convince him that he's still bigger since he is learning how to read. Its tough being the oldest though I'm sure Aryeh Leib would disagree.

Yisroel Meir is cutting his first tooth! I've started him on solids which means that now his spit up is colorful (and his poopies stink).

Lots more going on but I'm too tired to continue. ......

B"H the boys continue to give us nachas (in between heart palpitations) and continue to grow bigger and bigger (way too quickly!!!!)

Until next time..........

Yeah, I'm tired.

Things you learn in a Supermarket:
1. Do NOT hold a tray of 30 eggs with one hand.....
2. MAKE SURE that you have enough money to pay for the food that you'd like to buy........

Its been a looooong couple of weeks. Jason went for more x-rays today and will see the orthopedist again tomorrow. Sigh.

In other news.......
Jason might not be going places but YM sure is! He's not officially crawling- more like swimming. Either way, he definitely gets where he needs to go......sometimes even in the middle of the night (yawn).

I need a vacation!

Well today was.......different.

Its not every day that you get to hang out in a hospital for 3 hours. Jason (finally!) obtained an appointment with an orthopedist in Hadassah hospital- the head of the department no less! Yep, we spent almost an hour and a half waiting for the good professor (and shame on you if you have the chutzpah to call him "Doctor"!) and another hour and a half waiting for the casting technician to finish his lunch. After a sum total of 2 and a half hours of waiting and a half our of actual care, we ventured (or should I say hobbled?) homeward- cast and crutches included. (Actually, nothing was included. We had to pay for everything.) I thought to mention that I am a life member of Hadassah* as is my mother before me and her mother before her and her mother before her! Maybe that would help expedite the process! But then I figured that unless the casting technician also happened to be the director of the hospital, he probably wouldn't fancy setting aside his falafel and pita just because Grandma Goldie has a plaque in the west wing of the fifth floor.

We finally got home at about 4. After candle lighting I left Jason with the big boys while the baby and I went food shopping. This is what happened while I was gone.............

HELP!!!!!!

So, its 9 PM on Thursday night. My boys are finally sleeping (I had to rebathe them since they were covered in ice-pops, chocolate pudding, marker, and glue when I returned......) and I haven't done a blessed thing in preparation for shabbos!!!!!
Who wants to host a really nice family of 5 with 3 delicious boys this shabbos?
Better yet, you can take the boys. I'll make deli sandwiches for myself, buy some challah and grape juice, and get a little sleep!

Any takers?


*"Hadassah" is a woman's organization that raises money for Hadassah hospital.

Chanukhah Stationary

Be careful what you wish for. Just last week I was kvetching to Jason about how we don't spend enough time together. The next day Jason called from Yeshiva to report that he'd done something funky to his ankle (my words, not his) and needed a doctor. He hobbled home, x-rays in one hand, air cast in the other. He's been in the house ever since. You know its serious if the husband won't even leave the house to go to minyan...... Quality time? We've had it in droves this week. Poor guy- and all he was trying to do was save a little old savta from a burning building. Alright, that's not exactly what happened but y'all will never find out because I've been forbidden from blogging about it (Argh!)...........suffice it to say that you have to be super careful in that Bais Medrish- those sefarim can be ruthless.
Our chanukah has been pretty eventful (or should I say uneventful?).
He's in a LOT of pain- enough that he even agreed to see a doctor again. Ironically, there was not an orthopedist to be found in all of Jerusalem. They were ALL-every last one of them- at an orthopedist's conference (which for sure is held like once in 5 years) in Tel Aviv. Sorry folks, no on is allowed to break or injure any bones this week- we are busy conferencing.
Thank G-d my in-laws are friends with lots of doctors! I don't know what we would have done without my FIL's good friend, Mark Berger. Even without seeing Jason in person he was able to give us a pretty good sense of what we were dealing with. Now all we need is a doctor in the family..........

Thank you to Abubby for the generous chanukah gift. We used it to buy.......toy appliances. I tried SO HARD to convince them to get a tool set. But, no, we wanted the iron and the immersion blender (known in our house as the "zhuzher"). We'll display them in our toy room next to our doll strollers. (I'm sorry, G-d, maybe I didn't make myself clear. I said I wanted GIRLS, not BOYS who play like girls.)

Hoping all is well with the lot of ya and wishing everyone a happy Chanukah!

Baruch Rofai Cholim (I feel good da na na na na na na)

We are feeling MUCH better- Boruch Hashem. I'm noticing vestiges of my old baby. Even on a good day he's a kvetch ball but at least when he's healthy, his smiley moments are very smiley. When he was sick, we had to kvetch (pardon the pun) a smile out of him.

And we are sitting up AND getting onto all fours! Not only that but since I've been milk free (2 days and counting) YM - my spit up KING- hasn't spit (or is it spat?) up once!!!!! Coincidence? I think not.

We are NOT enjoying our antibiotics. It's kind of handy that Mommy is stronger than YM.

YM and I continue to have our nightly pow-wows (tikun chatzos) in the rocker so I'm still a zombie but that ( I hope) will change soon enough. I'm just so thankful that he seems to be feeling better.

A happy (belated) birthday to Tanta Feigy. We wish you could come visit!! (OR maybe we'll visit you this summer...............)

Quickly updating- one handed

So tired. No time to blog.......too busy keeping our heads above water.

A quick update:

• Motzei Shabbos, YM woke up with 102.8. I administered alternating doses of Tylenol and Advil throughout the night to get- and keep- his fever down.
• Sunday 9AM found us in (Good 'ol) Dr. Cohen's office. This time it was the left ear! We both agreed that the best course of action at this point was antibiotics. (Grrrrrr! we lost the battle- but we haven't lost the war!!!!!)
• 10AM, after expending great efforts to OBTAIN the antibiotics (Meuchedet: Sorry, none left till 5 this evening. Me: What should I do about my sick baby? Meuchedet: You could try a g'mach Me: Thanks (Thinking to myself: I'm switching to leumit!)*) I administered 2.5cc to YM only to have it administered back at me - all over my skirt. Frustrated, I gave Dr. Heimlich's office a call to find that there was an available appointment that afternoon!!!!!
• 3pm, the 4 of us boarded the J-m bound bus. The boys were previously bathed and dinner was brought along so that I could deposit them right into bed when we returned from our tiyul

(I'll have to tell y'all about our visit to Dr. Heimlich another time but in a nut shell, his methods are a combination of reflexology, iridology, and very expensive equipment. What I learned was that YM is allergic to milk products. Thats what's exacerbating the ear infections. To clarify- He doesn't eat milk products, he nurses. But, when I eat milk products, he gets an ear infection......got it?)

• 5:30PM we boarded a bus back to Beitar. (Try saying that 5 times fast.) The bus broke down just before (Thank G-d) the kvish haminharot**. After a 15 minute delay, we boarded a new bus and continued on our journey. We arrived home at around 7.

(time out- baby is awake...........again)

• Today the baby definitely felt better. Actually- that's not a fair assessment. He didn't tell me that he felt better but he did seem that way, at least.

The problem is that he's still a bit congested and is now well broken in to very bad sleeping behavior. There's nothing you can do about a sick baby- they just need to be held. I haven't slept in my bed in 3 nights. I've just held him in the rocker recliner (thanks, Mom) all night long. Every time I tried to put him back into his crib, he woke up. Now that he's feeling a bit better, I would like to reestablish good sleeping behavior but I'm hesitant since, again, he hasn't told me that he's better- so I can't know for sure. So, I'll wait until I'm positive that he is 100%. Until then, he'll probably continue his recent minhag of waking every 1.5 hours or so........

(By the way, its 11pm and he's now sitting in my arms.........)

All of this has put a serious damper on accomplishing anything functional like cooking and laundry- not to mention my job!!!! So, I apologize, dear readers for the sparse nature of my blog quantities of late. We hope that will change very soon. (Amen!)

I hate the winter.

His hair is totally brown.

*Our Health system here in Israel is socialized. You choose one of four or five kupot (loosely defined as a health care organization) and go to that organization's local clinic with all of your ailments. We belong to "Meuchedet" which generally we've been very pleased with except that in our area, which is still very much under construction, Meuchedet is housed in a small apartment and lacking certain necessities like a pharmacy!!! "Leumit", on the other hand has already built a huge complex across the street from Meuchedet........

**Bubby-don't read this part.......kvish haminharot is peppered with a number of Arab villages......some more volatile than others. Don't worry, our bus was bullet proof.

Pre Chanukah Fun

Thank you to all of our supporters. We were truly touched (sniff, sniff) by your responses. In gratitude, we present to you our latest rendition of "Yivanim Nikbitzu Alai". We're thinking of starting our own group. "Boyz in de Bed". Good thing we already have daytime occupations.........



Also, I'm taking a poll.
Red or Brown????? (Whatever color it is, Thank G-d its finally existent!)

We're on STRIKE!

We're on Strike. We work so hard to be the cute, zany, precocious munchkins that you've grown to know and love. Our Mommy is perpetually shoving us into poses so that she can get 'just the right shot'. "Just one more picture, Boys," She says. We really believe you, Ma. More like TEN more pictures....... But we sit and we smile because we know how much you, our readers, enjoy seeing our Yummy faces. You open our blog and chuckle as you read our latest antics and then you go on with your day, a bit cheerier than you were before. But what about us? We don't even know who is reading about us because we get virtually no feedback! Our Mommy blogged twice last week and nary a comment was posted. Let us know that you are there! Don't make us feel like we are floating aimlessly in the dark abyss of the blogosphere! Post a comment once in a while so that we can smile knowing that we've made you smile! No more blogs till we get feedback!

Typing one handed

Goodness I'm confused. I thought we'd conquered the evil ear infection monster but as I sit here at 2am- unhappy baby in my arms- I begin to wonder who has the upper hand- I mean ear- I mean I'm sooooooooo sleepy. Ive administered the sacred oil concoction and hope that sleep will come soon- for both of us. Me thinks were going to pay Dr Cohen yet another visit tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe his ears are fine and he's starting to teethe. It stinks that the little booger won't just tell me whats bothering him. I'm thinking about taking Yisroel Meir to an alternative doctor that many people recommend. His name is Dr. Heimlich. He does some kind of funky maneuver with super expensive equipment that determines what foods/substances cause adverse reaction in a particular person. I'm convinced that I'm eating something that doesn't agree with YM. Between the ear infections and the endless spit-up, there must be something that I should be avoiding. The honest truth is that this alternative medicine thing intrigues me. Kinda makes me feel like I'm cheating on a test. Anyway, I'll keep y'all posted.

A wonderful Shabbos to all!

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......)