My boys got home on Monday, several hours after they were supposed to land, with tons of stuff they brought from the States. They pretty much left with 3 pairs of underwear and 3 tee shirts each. Now they are back with 70 lbs of stuff EACH. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever have to buy crayons again! Or stickers. Or notebooks (note to self: these notebooks won't work in Israel!). The kids have enough crocs in various sizes to last till they go in the IDF (and I only slightly exaggerate there) and more American patriotic shirts than I'll ever let them wear.
We have a lot of new books in English, worksheets, workbooks, novels, kid books etc. So so lovely.
Of course there were all the essentials: Reese's, rootbeer, clam chowder (yes, not kosher, of course), Oreos and what not. Things that little kids love. And the not so little ones as well.
Today was the first time I hhad time to sort through the kids and Janice's luggage. Good thing we had a new loft put in, because otherwise I have no idea where I'd put it all.
Some of tehs tuff they brought we are going to use at cousin camp. For the duration of the camp we have my sister's four kids staying with us, so now we have 5 boys and 2 girls between the ages of 6 and 16 in the house. Tomorrow we have Crazy Christian Neighbour's kids over as well, also overnight as Crazy Christian Neighbour, Not-At-All-Crazy Wife, Christian Downstairs Neighbour and the Odd American are going to some retreat sans kids, so that will make 11 kids in the house. That shall be interesting. Especially as it's Torah day at cousin camp tomorrow...
I used to come home from the US every summer with all that loot! The notebooks with the 3 holes are a problem, but I would get the binders and the paper and everything in the US so I could use it! I <3 mead...and the pretty folders!
ReplyDeleteThe US is a fun place for kids!
Yeah, the only thing that my sweeeeeeeeeet almost in-laws (Hi, Papa Carpenter!) forgot was that my sons are going into first grade and they need Israeli first grade note books (or their teacher will chop my head off... again).
ReplyDeleteI love going through the stuff they brought. In September my almost-in-laws are coming for a week. Grandma wears the same size as Janice, Grampa as my dead, so the only thing they bring for themselves is underwear. I think we will have enough stuff for the rest of our lives. Or at least till April. :-D
hi hevel. joined your bloggersphere through networkedblogs on facebook. forgive my ignorance, but what is "cousin camp"? sounds interesting. also, what are the basic differences between US notebooks and Israeli notebooks?
ReplyDeleteHi Dionne!
ReplyDeleteCousin Camp is a tradition in my family. Since my father has 12 adult children and 5 adult foster children who kept in touch, he has a lot of grandchildren all over Israel, Hungary, the UK, the US and Hong Kong. Once a year for about ten days we have all the grandkids in town with fun.
Notebooks in Israel are like books, they open to the left, so from American point of view the front is on the back. Also we do not use three ring binders, but 4 rings as most of the world.
Thanks Hevel.
ReplyDeleteCousin Camp sounds like so much fun. With such a large family, I would imagine no one has any trouble feeling connected.
I thought that directionality had something to do with the differences in the notebooks, but I wasn't sure. I have a Hebrew/English interlinear, and it reads from right to left.
Thanks for you comment on my blog. I would love to hear more on how you helped your son through his journey. I've not met many parents in our situation, so it's very hard to find resources. My daughter is only one, so any insights would be much appreciated. We took her to a speech therapist, and even though our daughter failed her hearing test, they're telling us that she doesn't qualify for any services because her condition is not "that bad". what constitutes "that bad" is beyond me. Anyway, I didn't mean to leave a chronicle. :0)