alright already

Ok Ok...it's been a while, but no need to worry- we're still here :)
Been pretty busy lately, as Rich said a few posts ago.

Rich is in Tampa AGAIN. He left here Mon night and is coming back tonight (Thur). It's actually pretty manageable when he's gone. I'm forced to have a rigid schedule in order to better handle the kids and stuff around the house. The kids- especially Gali- really do well when they know everything is planned out and has a specific order. ("First we eat lunch. Then we read books. Then we take scooters outside...") Things are little more haphazard when Rich is here. Not because of him, but because I relax and let things happen when they do- I get lazy. So the goal is to keep up the sched when he gets back. Wish me luck :)

For some reason, every time Rich leaves for Fla, the lice crawl their way in. Not so bad this time because I've learned my lesson and comb every one's hair out after baths every night. I found a big friend in Gali's hair this time so I jumped into action and doused every one's head in olive oil, got them back in the tub and piled on the rosemary conditioner. Combed everyone out again. I think this time we caught the bugger before he could multiply. I didn't find a single nit or louse in any one's hair, including Gali, after I took that original one out. It must have jumped aboard at gan that day.

So, G-d willing, we're done with that...for now anyway.

I've added a few more things to my plate this past week. I started ulpan in Yerushalayim on Sunday. So far, so good. The teacher's pretty good. Unfortunately, I haven't gone in 2 days because I couldn't manage to get the kids out quickly enough to catch a bus to get to ulpan at a reasonable time. No ulpan on Fridays, so I'm hoping to start up again on Sunday after R and I think up a plan for dropping off the kids. All this should be easier after we have the car.
(Side point: The car is on hold because they need our passports for a few days to process the purchase and Rich needed to keep his for the flight this week. So we're HOPEFULLY going back on Sun to give them the passports and finally get the ball rolling for the car.)

Hila started daycare a week and a half ago with an English speaking woman in her home. There are 5 other kids, all of whom are 2-3 yrs old. Doesn't faze Hila because, of course, she thinks she's about 2 yrs old. The teacher is wonderful. She sets up the day like an actual preschool with "aruchat eser" (10 o'clock meal of a sandwich and fruit), story time, playing in the park. Hila has really taken to it. She usually gives a little cry when I leave, but today she dismissed me with a little wave.

Another perk of daycare is the great workout I get when I take her there and back every day. The two older kids are in gan a building away from our apt, but Hila is practically at the end of the neighborhood. It's a nice hike up and down hill...and the woman lives on the top floor of the building. So that would be up 4 flights of stairs as well.

But definitely the best perk of all is not having someone perched on my hip the entire day for the first time in 5 yrs!

Another recent happening is I got job! The company Rich is working for right now is looking for copy editors, so I applied. I took a 2+ hr test to see if I qualified and I just had a phone interview last night. They emailed me a contract after the phone call. The position could be full time, but I definitely don't have time for that. I'll be working 20 hrs a week to start.

It's going to feel strange working again. It's going to feel REALLY strange working in a field that doesn't involve kids in any way. I'm looking forward to it!

Well, those are the happenings of these past 2 weeks in a nutshell.