Results

Well I owe you all the results of my trip. I think It was extremely successful and the kids were great.
I believe all the planning that my husband and I did really paid off.
Kids slept a little, ate and played on the flight to Israel. They got really antsy with about two hours to go but made it smoothly until landing.
I got them to go to sleep (finally) by having them fall asleep on the floor under the bassinet and then moving them to a seat. The hype was mostly self-induced because we were anxious that they needed to sleep.
But I realized that I can't expect them to sleep as much on the plane.
For what we were asking them to do they were great. Oh and the baby was great too.
The hardest part about the flight there was managing the luggage strollers and children in the airport. The kids ate and slept Thursday night when we arrived at my brother’s and sister-in-law’s house. I kept waking up thinking I heard them but of course they were sound asleep. That got us off to a great start. We were able to enjoy a full day of activities on Friday and got us onto a normal sleep schedule.
Friday - Day 1:
Ramat Gan Zoo
We borrowed my brother’s car and managed to get lost while trying to drive like aggressive Israelis. We met up with my sister and family at the zoo and had a blast. The kids enjoyed themselves!
In the evening the kids went to the park. After dinner it took a while to get them to bed but again they slept thru the night.
Saturday (Shabbos) - Day 2:
Quiet day at brothers house. Kids slept late and got to eat and play a lot. It was such beautiful weather! We hung around the house most of the day, rested, and got ready for a busy, busy week.

Saturday night we took a cab/mini-bus to our hotel in Jerusalem. We tortured the kids by taking them out for late-night pizza. We enjoyed but the kids were cranky by the time they got to bed.

Sunday through Wednesday will be posted in next blog post. I don’t have time to write up all the details but I wanted to give you all SOME of my experiences…

My Dreaded Flight

Tonight is the night I have been dreading for the past few months. My husband and I are taking our 3 children, ages 4 and under on a 12 hour plane trip… 12 hours!!! 12!!! Are we C.R.A.Z.Y.?

So as we embark on this long trip, we have prepares out kids in a few ways:

1. We explained that the airport has lines, lines, and more lines and we need to wait on them. Hope this is a lesson in patience.

2. We told the kids several times that we will be sleeping on the flight (overnight flight) and we are going to dress them in pajamas for that purpose. We are bringing along their “kikis” or blankets, and their letter “A” and “K” pillows.

3. We brought medicines—not to drug the kids, but to have on hand:

a. Benadryl for nausea

b. Tylenol for regular pain

c. Orajel for teething (2^nd tooth coming in any minute)

4. We gave each kid her own carry-on so they have coloring books, crayons, silly putty, snacks, and treats.

5. We uploaded music to our ipods for them to have and got a DVD player and DVDs.

6. We told story after story about plane rides in the hopes that they will understand what we are about to embark on. Somehow Kayla thinks that “no bad people” go on planes. From her mouth to G-d’s ears! I hope that’s a good assessment of El Al.

7. I tweeted constantly about strollers, car-seats, tips, and ideas when flying and finally decided to bring 1 double stroller, 1 snap n go with the infant car seat, and 2 boosters with a back. Thanks to all who contributed to that conversation.

8. And finally, I am sure no matter how much preparation I have put in, I will be completely overwhelmed by tantrums and overtired children in the airport. Hopefully they will sleep on the plane (did I bring too much entertainment for them to actually sleep?).

9. If I have low expectations, I am bound to be impressed by our successful journey… right???

Only time will tell. Here’s to hoping we don’t get thrown off the plane for unruly conduct by the “bad people” and the flight attendants.

WISH ME LUCK!

….results to follow….

My impressions of Google Wave so far (day1):

It seems like a nice collaborative tool. I could have used it in grad school while I was working on my year-long project with a team of students and a few organizations.

It doesn’t work in explorer, which I am ok with since I use chrome but I see that they want you to really make the commitment to google.

It is hard to find contacts. If the concept is social networking and collaboration, there should be twitter-like activity where you can follow contacts even if you do not know their email addresses.

I see now that you gain wave contacts by being involved in waves with other people who have those connections. It's hard to find people on wave!

Wave should import your contacts from other email services.

Wave needs what we iphone users call push status notification. I can’t tell when someone has edited or added to a wave.

I wonder if there is a way to “stay online” like with g-chat without keeping the whole browser open. I have to explore… which leads me to my last point…

As with all social media and new technology… you learn by using it and experimentation. Don’t try to “read the manual” or get it all from the youtube video with Dr. Wave. It won’t help.

I assume if I use it, I earn wave invites. Not sure if that is the real system, but I would like to extend invitations as so many people are pining to discover what I have been privy too.

People: I’m not sure if this is the wave of the future…!

"No Offense, But..."

Why do people always think it’s ok to say whatever they want as long as they preface it with

“No offense, but…”

These statements only end badly!

For example:

… you are missing the whole point (aka you can’t comprehend anything above a third grade level)

…you’re really slow (aka you are a complete idiot!)

… you need to pop that pimple (aka you have acne, ew!)

…your kids are a little hyper (aka you are a terrible parent!)

…your shirt is a little snug (aka you are fat)

…you’re tone deaf (aka you sound like a dying mule)

People should just filter what they say and if it's going to start with "no offense, but..." they should keep it to themselves!

"No offense, but... this was such a random blog post..." (aka that was a weird rant).

Well, thanks for listening to my random rants. Be back soon with some cuteness from my kids.

Onion Soup (last night's dinner)

I made an easy onion soup recipe for dinner and it was DELICIOUS! Who needs restaurants when you can make it yourself? We were so full from the soup that we didn't even eat the pasta I had also prepared.

Here's the recipe for you to try:

2.5 lbs onions sliced in rings

3 cloves minced garlic (I used 3 tsp. from the jar)

1 T. oil

8 cups water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1/2 tsp salt

Fry the onion and garlic in oil until golden, not brown.

Add water and soy sauce and bring to boil.

Simmer for 40 min.

Serve with bread croutons over cheese. ENJOY!

The Mommy Twitter Experience

I love Twitter and I think I have found my niche on the popular social
networking site: MOMMY.
Mommy is my title at home and it's now a major part of my online
identity.
I like sharing parenting tips as well as flops. I love having
#huggiesmom baby showers and #theonlinemom Twitter parties.
Other benefits include sharing my wisdom, craft ideas, recipes and
dinnertime woes.
Plus there is no end to the # of friends I can meet! There are
MILLIONS of moms on Twitter.
You gotta wonder how we all have enough time to blog, tweet, work and
still be a MOM.
Well the answer is that we don't so we compensate by getting shortcuts
from other moms who already have good ideas.
Like today I shared a costume idea for something cheap and easy for a
pregnant mom with @graciekate and got ideas from @marksofla (a dad and a good
one at that) for taking my kids on a 12 hour flight and yummy dinner ideas (frying pan not included).
So networking online really HELPS our parenting!
And it gives moms and dads other adults to relate to outside of the office (something we can all use!).
Follow me on Twitter @esteelavitt!

Here are two quick videos of my kids.

1. Tzvi in his rocker when he started to smile:

2. Arielle and Kayla saying Little miss muffet at ages 3 and 1 1/2 about 1 year ago:

Aren't they cute?

Did you miss me? A story about my kids:

I haven't blogged in way too long as I have been bogged down at work. So here I am now. So much has happened, yet I am speechless. So I will just return to my favorite topic: MY KIDS.

Arielle went to her first week of kindergarten. She will be 4 in October so this is 2 years before 1st grade. She did amazingly well with the transition! She has been singing new songs and playing new games like freeze dance by turning the lights on and off while changing into pajamas. She has matured so much in only 4 days. She is like a real kid not a toddler!

Kayla at 2 1/2 is talking so much. Sometimes she has so much to say that she garbles all the words because she's tripping over her sentence. Yesterday she tried to tell me there was no fly in the house because she "frowed it out the window wif my 'and." She's so yummy and agreeable. Except when daddy leaves and then again when mommy has to do Arielle’s carpool then go to work. And I love her curly girly hair! She says "I 'ave curly, not you..!" What a teaser! YUM!

Tzvi aka Tzpiki Zalman as the other kids call him is now 3 months old today. Happy birthday! Weighing in at 14.5 lbs and at 24 1/2 inches he is in the 70th percentile for both weight and height. He holds his head up amazingly well and now can focus on toys and people. He listens to the girls talking to him and he coos back. They say "Tzpiki, you talky boy! Yeah!" and boy does he like to hear his own voice! But then again, who doesn't. Isn't that why I am blogging?

Well there's my update. I will try to post pictures of them all soon.

Grandma and Gibberish: Tech Talk Today

Did you ever notice how different our vocabulary is now that we have all of this technology?

My 87 year old grandma is pretty tech-savvy for an older lady. After all, she uses Yahoo! and emails us all the time. She even used to have a cell phone (though she thought for a while that you could only call a cell from another cell).

But no matter how quick she is the words I use are not registered in Grandma's dictionary.

Consider this sentence: “I tweeted about the blog and subscribed to the RSS feed.”

Me: total sense. Grandma: gibberish.

Next consider this: “I RT'd @qtpie with a link to the twitpic and she said LOL.”

Me: total sense. Grandma: gibberish.

Or: “I googled the FB app and downloaded the update but I don’t like the new user interface.”

Me: total sense. Grandma: gibberish.

So my point is how much the tech world has changed our language and how large the generational gap is with the new advancements. Even my parents don't quite get it, though they are closer than grandma! I find it quite comical.

Kingda Ka Killer Adventure Part 2

This is the picture I took of the killer ride I took...

Kingda Ka Killer Adventure

On Sunday I had the pleasure of going to great adventure with my husband, brother in law and niece. We went on lots of fun and scary rides. Roller coasters can be scary because while we are taking a thrill ride we all know deep down that just one slight malfunction could be deadly.

You never want to hear a ride operator say the word "OOPS."
Every ride has a sign next to the operator that says "Do Not Distract Ride Operator." Does that mean that one rowdy teen can determine my fate?
So you can imagine my shock and horror when I got up to the gate on the Kingda ka ride and it was "temporarily out of order." what is it I thought- a loose screw? A snapped steel beam? A rowdy crew so distracting that the operator joined in their games?
Luckily the girls in front of me were on round 2 of their Kingda ka excitement and they were here when it was announced.
The ride was closed because someone on the last trip wet himself in his seat during the ride. Now was clean up time.
Oh thank g-d I thought. Nothing so serious!
WAIT A MINUTE!!!
A man wet himself in fear while on this ride and I am saying thank g-d?!? I am thrilled it is nothing seriously deadly or dangerous?!?

This ride is insane and I know why that guy was afraid. You and the other crazy riders get shot 456 feet into the air by hydraulic power at 128 miles per hour. You make one twist till you reach the peak where you edge over the top hanging there with no sense of gravity. You cannot see the track anymore- just the blue sky, clouds, and great expansive parking lot.

Finally you head back down at what feels like 300 mph twisting as you shoot straight down like an arrow heading for the enemy’s heart. This is the link to the description from Great Adventure’s website. I hope I did it justice: http://www.sixflags.com/greatAdventure/rides/KingdaKa.aspx

After all that, you finish off with a small little bump in the track that makes you thankful that you are no longer at a 90 degree angle, and then you come back around to the starting point wondering where you lost your lunch along the way.

Dirt

Yesterday my husband Jeremy bought dirt. A lot of dirt. To fill a gaping hole in our backyard.

When we moved in we had 2 sheds, a tree stump, a fence and a lot of junk which we cleared out. And we now have a massive hole. So tonight he has to pour the dirt and put down seeds.

When we filled our first hole after removing the tree stump, we researched which grass seeds to buy. The guy at Home Depot was like an infomercial. He told us that one brand claimed it could grow on concrete, without any sun, in just one week. So Home Depot put an inch of dirt on the concrete and "planted" the seeds. Well, they watered them day in and out and on day 8--or so the guy claimed-- grass began to appear.

I am usually very skeptical but with the promise for grass in our gaping holes and the excitement of the infomercial, we took the risk.

We watered and watered until day 8 when I thought it had failed. But on day 9 Jeremy said he saw grass. And indeed he did!

It grew in nicely and you wouldn't know there was ever a hole. My father in law even asked us where the tree stump used to be- he honestly couldn't tell.

After that experiment, we are going to fill yet another large hole tonight. First with dirt, and then with the famous seeds that grow on concrete.

At the risk of sounding like an infomercial... I highly recommend this product, which can be purchased at Home Depot... (But I forgot the exact name of the product and will check and post when I get home.) Just water and it will grow.

Good luck all!

Letter from my bank

Here is a letter we received from our bank... the one we trust with our mortgage.

"Your ending balance, from the last month of the accounting history, is
$4672.99. Your required balance according to this analysis should be
$4673.00.

This means that you have a shortage of $.01. This shortage may be collected from you over a period of 12 months or more unless the shortage is less than 1 month's deposit in which case we have the additional option of requesting payment within 1 month. We have decided to collect it over 1 months."

It cost the bank 61 cents to mail this letter! Are you kidding me?!?

Secaucus Junction and the NJ Transit

So here I am at Secaucus Junction- the train station with the best radio station. And sitting to my right is a woman with one of those mini tehillim/psalm books. Now this is not the first time I have ever seen her. She seems to take my train each morning and we sit next to each other on this same bench waiting for a transfer. I admire her for reading psalms every morning (the English translated side no less). As u can tell, I am a real people watcher. This helps keep me busy when I am alone and gives me something to talk about with strangers or in awkward situations.

Anyway, here are my general thoughts on Secaucus Junction and the NJ transit:

1. As mentioned above, they have best music streaming. I wonder who the DJ is.

2. You are not a good conductor unless you call it SEEEcaucus.

3. The early morning trains are consistently announced on one track but arrive on the opposite track… without fail! Why even announce a track when there are only 2 possibilities to NYC and they share a platform? And should I trust the signals and information at this station if they are always wrong when they make announcements?

4. “Track 3/Other Way.” That is an actual sign…! Wait, which way?

5. I pay $4.25 for a nice sit down ride and the MTA subway users spend $2 less (yes, the fare for the subway is now $2.25) and get to be cramped, pushed, sweaty, and solicited by random blind men with dogs playing “Country Road” from what looks like an old transistor radio. Thank goodness for the NJ Transit!

3 Couples and a Bowl of Pasta:

Last night I went to Va Bene, a dairy Italian restaurant in NYC - www.vabenenyc.com. I highly recommend the restaurant and the food was delish and the experience was great. Here is my take on the three couples sitting in my row.

Couple 1: Seriously right out of a movie! I saw a woman at one table to my right and a man at another to my left. They each begin playing w their phones, texting to find the other. After a few texts, they finally realize the other is there. And only 4 tables away! So they look up, laugh and he moves over to sit with her. I feel like I'm watching, “You’ve Got Mail” or another chick flick like that.

Couple 2: Intense restaurant experts… They say hello to the maitre de and you can tell they know the menu by heart and have it all planned out to a tee. They begin w salads for each and share the appetizer personal pizza. Then the main dish arrives- a large bowl of pasta for each. They know the best dishes and even how to twirl their pasta with a fork and spoon and they make me feel like I should have ordered exactly what they did.

Couple 3: They REALLY need a new shadchan aka whoever set them up doesn't really know either of them. He is a straight guy wearing a white shirt & black pants and sporting a scruffy beard. She is caked up in foundation and wearing a bright pink and orange shirt and short skirt. They are barely talking... I could have held a better conversation with a goldfish! I'm pretty sure they will never trust the friends who set them up ever again!

Well at least my company was nice as I was with my brother, sister in law, and husband. I am just hoping none of the above 3 couples decided that MY table was so strange that they would blog about the weird couples in their row at Va Bene.

Blogging?

I have just begun this blog, inspired by my fellow Twits. From what I understand, you are nobody on Twitter if your tweets don't lead to a more interesting and expanded blog. And I am fed up with being nobody on Twitter. SO HERE IT IS. You may notice that it is entitled, "Is anyone interested in what I have to say?" and that is because I am truly skeptical about this. I mean, with millions of bloggers, who will be interested in what I have to say?

Answer to that: my husband promised me that he is!

Well at least I have 1 person I know who cares about what I say. The rest of you out there are just nodding your heads and smiling, thinking that the title to my blog is in fact quite apropos.

So, here's my very first attempt at blogging. You can be sure this is going right up on Twitter and Facebook so at least my friends will read and comment.

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more of my rants...

Toodles.