jet lag... still?

This week has made me happy to be a stay at home mom. Baby has decided that sleeping through the night is no longer fun, and has been waking up every hour. We are attempting to move her into sleeping in her own crib at night, which hasnt helped the situation... but when she wakes up in the middle of the night in our bed she just wants to play! Suffice it to say it has been a long couple nights with not much end in sight...

I headed back to Ulpan this week, after an almost three week break. My hebrew understanding and speaking are getting a ton better, but I am still no good at proper grammar, especially when asked out of context. I still use hebrew (or my tortured form of it) about 40% of my daily life, so I am trying... but it still so much easier to fall back into english when I dont know how to say something! This is especially problematic with my husband or his english speaking brother or cousin... because I know I use them as a crutch. Part of me thinks "Ive only been here 5 months, I deserve the break", but the other part of me knows that if I REALLY want to learn the language properly than I am going to have to give in and speak hebrew all the time.

We have been 'learning' about Tu Bshvat in class, and discussing the fruits native to israel and the roots behind the holiday. Its always interesting to discuss religion with my russian classmates, who have very strong opinions about religion (both good and bad). It always amazes me how strongly zionistic my class is... Today they were discussing how their parents always talked about eretz Israel and dreamed about it and passed the beauty on to them.

I was talking to one of my classmates about when she made aliyah, 25 years ago. She said that she grew up thinking that the streets of Israel were really filled with milk and honey... and then she came here to KG to streets filled with trash and people who didnt bathe and left the house a mess. She said she cried for weeks... her dream of Israel had been ruined. When I asked her what she though now, she said that it was a mixture... things have by far gotten better here, and she has gotten used to the fact that Israel is in fact a country that people live in... not just a land in her parents dreams. I think that many immigrants to the US in the early 1900s must have felt the same way when realizing that the streets of America aren't really paved with gold. It was an eye opening conversation... and I am thankful for everything we have

shiny new things

We bought a car! The biggest purchase we've ever made... We lasted a month and a half without a car... in the city itself we are fine, but with the baby taking the bus has become much harder. A car will help get groceries and do our farther traveling. I still plan to walk as much as possible because I like the time to myself and with the baby... but it will be so nice to not have to worry about how to get places.

I also received a care package from my parents! There is seriously nothing better than getting personal mail. It makes one feel loved and special.

Maya has started to mimic people, making the same noises we make back at us. She is consistently rolling from her back to her front, and it is impossible to leave her alone even for a second. Yesterday, for the first time, she tried to crawl! She shoved her legs under her and pushed forward... but pushed her head right into the ground instead. She still hasn't learned to sit up unassisted (and in fact doesn't seem the least bit interested), but she is still trying to crawl. Its amazing to watch her.

Other than that its been a quiet week, just enjoying sukkot and gearing up for Ami's wedding. Yehi had an interview yesterday, so hopefully we will hear the results of that soon. I am still waiting to get into some sort of daily schedule!

5 weeks

well, five weeks until the aliyah date. a lot to get done before then, but I am feeling ok with where we are right now. My inlaws have been looking for an apartment for us in the city they live in. Its been quite an experience. for some reason israelis count "room" numbers as all rooms, and not just bedrooms... so what would be a studio apartment here in the US is a 1 room apartment in israel. its totally thrown me off more than once. weve had a couple places look good, only to find out they were talking to multiple renters at once, all of whom were willing to rent longer than we are.

since this whole living in Israel thing will be new to me, we dont want to make a contract for longer than a year. who knows where we will want to be after this year? where will we be working? what about how we fit in (religiously, age wise, friend wise)? So we keep getting beat out of renting by native Israelis who commit to three+ years. the good news is that I think we finally found a place... a three bedroom (counting american style, 4 room israeli style) house, about 10-15 mins walking from both his parents and his aunt who will be our daycare. its also about that same amount from the tachana merkazit (central bus station) and the center of town. now i just hope it works out!

we are still waiting on my visa and the babys passports... hopefully by the end of this week. we have done a stock up run for deoderant, listerine, english books, etc... all the important things. i will try to post later about some of the emotions i am feeling... but for now baby is calling!

a new life

I knew going into it that this summer would be crazy... here it is the last day of may, and im already wondering how i was crazy enough to do this. baby has been great... overall she is quiet and absolutely adorable. I thank gd for my parents though, who have been so supportive helping us out when i just need a break or a nap. my inlaws come in two weeks, with my sister in law, and that will be interesting. just adding a whole other level to the mix. everyone has been so excited for the babys arrival, its still a shock to me.

on an aliyah level... next weekend is Israel in the Gardens, the yearly Israel celebration in the area. The Jewish Agency is holding a get together for all the new olim coming from here. i want to go to see who else is going, maybe make some connections... but i worry about taking a 2 week old to such a massive event. at least it would be outside, so i can cover her and hope people leave her alone. i would like to feel like i am getting somewhere with this aliyah thing, and meeting others would help. i wonder how many there are?

we are waiting on the babys birth certificate and ssn to go forward with her application. at least her name and birthday are in the system now, so thats a start. we also have to go take passport photos for her... which should be interesting trying to get a good shot with her eyes open. any advice?

baby is here!

B"h.  The baby was born Friday afternoon, and is healthy and beautiful.  I told Y that she would come either on Yom Yerushalim or Shavuot... and she did! (the first of course...).  A true israeli at heart.  All is well, though tiring.  On the aliyah front we now have to get her a passport (both israeli and american) and get her registered with NBN and the Jewish Agency.  I think Ill wait a couple days, and at least try to get a little sleep before running around from office to office.  we are so thankful she is here and healthy

Step by Step

Well, its spring break where I teach, which means a week of being able to figure things out for aliyah.  We hope to finish the bulk of our packing, and figure out what we are bringing with us.  Everything electric needs converters, and its hard to figure out what is worth it to bring versus buying in Israel (any thoughts from people whove been there done that?).  the fact that I am pregnant has made things a little crazy... and i want to be all packed (hopefully) long before baby makes its appearance...  

the Nefesh BNefesh flight schedule for the summer came out... and it looks like our options are the 3rd week of August or the first week of September.  Rosh Hashana is early this year, which puts the second flight only about a week before the holidays start.  I like the later flight because the baby will be two weeks older (which may not seem like much, but at that age...), but the earlier flight would mean more time to set up before holiday craziness.  Luckily we have his family to help us set up, so we just have to decide whats best for us.  its all slowly coming into place, just working through everything.