How we are managing this week without our stuff

You might be wondering what we're doing this week. Well, even though all the stuff is gone, there is still lots of things that need to get done:

1. Collect copies of medical records from what seems like 4 million doctors.

2. Clean up the house every time the realtor calls.

3. Go out to lunch with all the people who wanted to have us over for Shabbos and never quite got around to it - yum!

4. Declutter the house when the realtor calls.

5. Raid the library and take out all the books that Leah says we have in the house, but Petachya reminds her are on the train to Israel. (They are currently on the train, and will then be on a boat, please God. Although, if you ask Petachya how HE's getting to Israel, he'll simply say "oh, driving and walking.")

6. Quickly throw everything in the empty kitchen cabinets and closets when someone calls to say they might want to rent the house.

Notice a trend, here? Not that there are so many takers, but there are a few potential possibilities. Today, I came up with a new reality game show idea - how fast can you declutter the house? That could, of course, lend itself to a spin-off of - for how long can you keep it looking like that? Who knew we'd still have so much stuff after the stuff we had all left on the truck > train > to boat trip across the Atlantic?

Everyone has been so helpful. We are set up for so many meals during the week - either invitations out or people bringing in - that I had to say "no" to some people to make good on our promise to the kids that we'd be eating out. Our neighbor lent us a really good Calphalon milchig pot so I could make macaroni tonight. I think I'm going to have to keep the pot. She also brought over a box of toys for the kids when she saw them wrestling on our front lawn. That has been incredibly helpful. Thanks!
Tomorrow we are set to go to the Toledo Zoo. We're trying to get in last-minute area attractions. The weather is supposed to be good. Yay! More later.

The Pesach Dishes - They're Still Here!

Where do you store your Pesach dishes during the year? Why, in the closet under the stairs of course. That way they're really out of the way during the year, where you don't need them.
So out of the way, in fact, that you might totally forget about them when your movers come to pack up your lift. So out of the way that you totally forget about them even when you run through the house one more time to make sure that they got everything.
That's right. Our Pesach dishes are not on the lift. Yikes. We're not that worried about it -- they've got eight months to make aliyah. But it's just frustrating, because we had a really large container sitting in our driveway, happy to take all the boxes we could fill it with.
And we left them here.
It should be a kaparah.

Moving Day Part 2

For some reason, the keyboard on our desktop is not working, so I wasn't able to write about yesterday until now, when I have the laptop. So, here goes.
Wow! The movers arrived yesterday at 7am to finish packing as much as they could before the container arrived at 9. By 8, I felt really bad that I kept having to shoo the kids out of the way, so I took them to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. That was so fun! Then I got them bagels to take to camp, too. Double whammy. When we got home, Simcha, Leah and I took a walk to return some DVDs to someone (it's amazing how much stuff we have that doesn't belong to us), and by the time we came back, the container was here. It was huge. When the men had come for an estimate, they said we had enough stuff that we would be a little over a 20-foot container. The problem was that we didn't know what "a little over" meant. So, we ordered a 40 foot container. When they started filling it, they saw that they did not need to pack it tight, so by the time they were done, the entire container was filled to the back. They didn't stack things so high or take apart the metal storage shelves we have, but it looked like a ton of stuff. Whatever doesn't fit in the house in Israel is up for grabs, folks! So far, the moving company is great. The men worked very hard, and the salespeople are readily available to answer our questions. The movers packed our towels, though, so I had an excuse to visit Bed, Bath, and Beyond again and use those great coupons. Actually, I first returned some linen napkins I got as a gift, and didn't even get to use the coupons on the towels - I got a $12 credit! I guess I have cheap taste in towels.
Amazingly enough, Ruchie took the kids again, and they didn't come home until 8. That was really good for everybody. The empty house was a bit wierd for them (and for us), but they quickly forgot any misgivings as soon as they realized that the den seems to amplify their voices about 2500 times. Petachya immediately launched his rendition of a Shabbos morning drasha (go figure) and "ayzoh wee", his version of Anim Zemirot. We borrowed these really neat and comfortable folding mattresses from two families here (and pillows), and had a great night's sleep.
By this morning, our routine was pretty much back to normal. The kids went to camp, and I spent my time at home putting everything away that we had put aside from the movers. Bezalel has a friend sleeping over tonight, who thinks it's really cool that our house is so empty. So, phase one of the move is officially over.

Sigh.

Rena Got a Job! Hoooorraaayyyy!

Congratulations to Rena on her getting a job teaching two mornings a week at Midreshet Moriah in Yerushalayim for the coming year. I knew that she could (and would) do it, and we're very excited about it. It will be great because it will keep her in the classroom and also be a nice amount of time to be out of the house the first year.
Yay Rena!

Moving Day - Part 1

Yes, it's finally here - the day the movers are coming to pack us up. Amazing thank you to Ruchie Kresch, who just picked up the kids to take them to camp and occupy them for the rest of the day, if all goes well. It took me a while to accept help from people, but I'm so glad I did! Now we have to get ready. R's now taking videos of the stuff in the house - we figure if anything goes overboard, it's the best way to keep a record of everything. Smart thinking! We also have to pack and figure out all the stuff we're not taking with us. Yes, it's a bit overwhelming. Yes, it's really happening. How cool! We're living the dream!
More later.

Come Greet Us at the Airport

For those of you who will be in Israel, we got the following email from Nefesh B'nefesh:

Dear Olim,
Your Aliyah date is fast approaching and we are very excited for your Aliyah!
We would like to encourage you to invite friends and family to greet you as you step off the plane on the date of your arrival.
In order to register for the Aliyah Ceremony, your friends and family can access the online registration form at www.nbn.org.il/ceremony or you can call Abi at 02-659-5563.
We are anxiously awaiting your arrival and are looking forward to greeting you along with your friends and family.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Petachya's Torah

This morning we were cleaning up the basement -- the downsizing seems to go on and on -- and Petachya saw me putting away his stuffed Torah. He said to me, "Abba, can I take the Torah to shul?"
I said, "No, it's for Simchas Torah."
He said, "No, it my Torah."
"I know, it's for Simchas Torah."
Now he started getting upset. "No Abba. It's not Simcha's Torah. It's my Torah."
OK Petachya. It's your Torah.

Happy Birthday, Ruby!

Today, in honor of Ruby's birthday, we sent off our visa applications. Just kidding. I mean we really sent them off, but not in honor of Ruby's birthday. I had to fill out 3 copies of the application for each member of the family. Additionally, the children's had to be notarized. The only problem was that there was no place on the application for the notary seal! Thankfully, our notary was very resourceful, and only covered up part of the statement we had to sign. As soon as I got to Kinkos to FedEx it, I realized I left the address at home, but the guy behind the counter offered me to use his cell phone, which was really nice of him, so I didn't have to go all the way home to get it.
Petachya and Leah are sitting here singing "Shalom Aleichem". I think they think it's Shabbos tonight. I guess they're having a long first week in camp! Seriously, though, they are loving it. So am I, even though I didn't think I would. I am actually getting stuff done - surprise, surprise!
There is a chance I have a job! I got an e-mail from a seminary in Israel saying that some of their teachers have changed their plans, and would I be interested in teaching a few hours a week. Would I?!
We had our last garage sale on Sunday. We didn't do as well as the first one, but I guess all the good stuff had gone the first time around. One guy said he'd come back on Monday to look at the house, but he never came. Oh, well, I guess that means the emunah (faith in God) just has to get stronger! Our realtor doesn't think we should sell now, since the market is so bad. He says we should rent for two years until things pick up, and then try to sell. We haven't decided what to do yet, since we have no potential buyers or renters. We're still going, though!
The kids have all made contact with children their ages in Yad Binyamin, so they are starting to get more excited and less scared. Leah even found a girl who loves Polly Pockets - go figure!
That's all for now. I have to go clean up for the realtor, who's coming tomorrow.
Sweet Dreams!

I'm not sure what to title this

Two days ago, we celebrated our last chag in chutz la'Aretz! Our last until Rosh HaShana! Actually, it's everyone's last until Rosh HaShana, but once Succos comes along, then we can really talk. That's aside from the fact that in Detroit, yom tov ended at 9:53pm. Just enough time to finish Laura Ben-David's book, Moving Up: An Aliyah Journal. If you haven't yet read it, I highly recommend it!

The school year is coming to an end. Yesterday, after school, one of Simcha's friends (and his mother) made Simcha a surprise party. Simcha was truly surprised! They gave him an "Akiva" sweatshirt with his name on the back and a siddur (which he already used to daven minchah). It made him sad to realize that he will not see many of his friends for a long time, but he was so happy to feel that people care about him so much. Even his teachers came, which was a big highlight for him.

I'm a little in a panic, because I haven't yet applied for an aliyah visa. It has to be signed by both of us on each of the kids' applications (they had to be filled out in triplicate) and notarized. We're having a hard time coordinating schedules. I hope we'll be able to do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow I just have to go to school to enter my grades, and then go to the teacher appreciation lunch. Then I turn into an official SAHM. Weird, but good!

New Shipping Date

On Friday, I got a call from Uri at the shipping company - the container he was going to send to us is supposed to get to Israel before us, so we're moving things up (? back? - I never know which is which) and not getting packed up until June 23, and loaded on June 24. The new container should get there on the day we do, July 22, or so the shipping company says. Truth be told, I never heard of anyone whose lift actually got there when it was supposed to. I mean, I guess it always gets there when it's supposed to, but not necessarily when we thought it was supposed to.