Catchup Update: Sick, Hunter, Sukkot

Apology time: I am so sorry that I have not kept this blog up-to-date. So much has been happening, at such a rapid speed.  This year, the holidays work out that every other day is either a holiday, one day off, or Shabbat again. It's been impossible to find the time to write. But now, after the first day of Sukkot, I finally found some time.

So, first of all, we moved. I know I mentioned it, but I probably breezed over it. We were very excited about moving to this new house. I was extremely organized, but this move still had some big bumps in the road. The biggest setback was that our mover did not bring us our final 30 boxes until the afternoon before the move. As such, we were not ready to move when they got to us. So, they quickly took everything that was out and put it into unmarked boxes or giant bags and moved it. Mind you, the things that were left out at the end, are the things that are most essential to us. Those are the things that we still have not located. It has made the adjustment into our new place that much harder.

We bought a house that was previously owned by a family of 11. No, that was not a typo. 2 parents, 9 children. This house and every wall inside of it received a lot of "love" from its inhabitants. So, to sum it up, this place is a real "fixer upper". But, we are excited and working hard to start fixing it up. Of course, it has gone something like this: Move cupboards, spackle, sand, paint- stop- Rosh Hashanah. Sand, paint- stop- Shabbat. Sand, paint, fix a bunch of things, sand, paint - stop- Yom Kippur. Put everything back, spackle, sand -stop- dear friend's wedding, Shabbat. Spackle, fix a bunch of things, Sukkot.

It's been a bit difficult to settle in. But we truly are loving it and we are loving making this home ours. One of the biggest difficulties was the insects. Before we moved in, I had the house exterminated. Clearly, it didn't work and the exterminator will be returning shortly. But there were bugs everywhere. Now, I may be a fierce Heart Mama Bear sometimes...but I am a scared chicken when it comes to slugs, earwigs, spiders, gray rolly ugly looking things, and ants.

One day, Tzviel was playing outside and he called for me. I was in middle of painting and told him I couldn't come outside. He screamed, "You have to see this!!! It's a turtle! A real turtle!" Then I hear Tehilla say, "Hello! Hello! Hello!"

So I came outside and there it was. A turtle in our backyard. Here is the video of the turtle and Tehilla being super cute.

 

As it turned out, the previous owners owned 2 turtles and didn't take them with them. Or inform us that we now had turtles on our property! Well, we have only located one turtle and we found him a loving home with some of our friends. As soon as the second turtle is found, he will also be relocated.

A few days later, a very sweet, well groomed orange cat turned up in our yard. She was timid at first, but looked well kept and friendly. Not in a crazy rabies kind of way. In a normal cat kind of way. We called to her and she came. So, we put out a can of tuna. She gobbled it up extremely fast. Then we gave her some distance and watched her hunt lizards and bugs in our garden. I just kept chanting, "Hunt! Kill them! Hunt! Get rid of all of the bugs!"

And suddenly, all- no, I really mean ALL of the bugs stopped coming into our house. Not a single earwig or slug was to be found. We decided to let the orange kitty live outside in our garden. We named her Hunter. She is very affectionate and the kids adore her. Tehilla has learned to say "Hunter!" She also, unfortunately, started hitting the cat. The cat has never once done anything in retaliation, and Tehilla is always immediately punished to go inside.

Speaking of Tehilla- She will be turning two soon. On October 1st (there is your heads up, that some emotional posts will be coming). And she is taking the whole "terrible twos" thing very seriously. She has been pretty whiny and started saying "mine" and "I want" all the time. Not to mention destroying things and making messes wherever she goes. It's been...exhausting.

I had posted that she had a cold and cough. Well, it took a bad turn at one point. We took her to the doctor and she was put on antibiotics. She very quickly began to recover and is now doing very well.

This is the first year that we have an incredible sukkah space. Here is our sukkah that we have been eating in, some of us have been sleeping in and spending time in.

I hope all of you are enjoying your Sukkot as much as we have. May your holiday be filled with happiness!

 

Cold and Cough

Tehilla has caught a cold and this morning she woke up with a cough. Her cough very quickly started to go into her chest and her breathing became much heavier. She looked pale and her lips were purplish. So, she is being treated with inhalation and a humidifier and we are avoiding any further steps at this point. She looked and sounded better after the inhalation, so let's hope that she has a good night.

Rosh Hashana Pictures

Here are pictures of my silly goofballs! This is what happens when you try to get a family photo.

Shana Tova!

Well, we did it! We moved. We have spent the past few days wading through our cardboard box jungle and have managed to unpack about 80% of our things. I'm proud to say that we can see the floor- most of it. The kids are settling into their new rooms and everything is slowly starting to come together. Once we have painted and fully unpacked I will post some pictures.

Tonight is the first night of Rosh Hashana. We are happy to be sleeping in our new home and have thankfully been invited out for all our meals to family and friends. I was able to steal away a few minutes from unpacking and cleaning to write some thoughts down.

This time last year. I can't help but think back to where we were and what our mindset was going into Rosh Hashana. This time last year, we were still digesting the devastating news from Tehilla's heart catheter. We were told that she desperately needed surgery, but her chances of the surgery going well were minimal. That was the mindset that we went into Rosh Hashana with. I remember that last year, I managed to make it to shul (synagogue) for some time, and I remember crying into my machzor (holiday prayer book). I remember begging and pleading for my little daughter's life.

Her second birthday is in two weeks. My little girl has survived three heart surgeries and three heart catheters. She is a fearless, rambunctious, sweet and affectionate blonde haired, blue eyed little girl. Not a day goes by, that she does not bring a smile to our faces.

We are going into Rosh Hashana this year with joy and happiness in our hearts. With the words "thank you" on our lips. I can't wait to get to shul again, this year and cry tears of happiness into my machzor again.

To all of our family and friends, to all of our blog family, and to everyone out there, our family wishes you the most heartfelt shana tova (a good year). May this year bring each of you health and profound happiness. To everyone who faces struggles in their lives, I hope that your prayers are answered with a "yes".

Much love to all of you! I hope to post pictures later of the kids.

Everything is Fine- Moving Day

I did not intend to worry anyone with the lack of blogging. Everything is fine. We are all healthy and well and Tehilla couldn't be cuter or naughtier.

Tomorrow, we are moving to our new home, just a street over, in the same neighborhood. It is very exciting and very busy. Tehilla has enjoyed unpacking boxes that we did not manage to tape closed fast enough and running away with the tape and markers. But she's sweet and silly and doing fantastic. She is pushing herself to say more words like "door, bye, and orange." 

Once we are settled in, I will post some pictures of Tehilla in her new room.

Israel is experiencing a terrible desert sandstorm. Our skies are orange and sand has been floating around for two days. We have made sure to keep Tehilla indoors as much as we can and have our windows shut constantly.