Four More Days ....

Until we leave for Israel. We will be gone for three weeks and we certaintly have each day packed fun with lots of adventures.

And speaking of packing ... what a (I wish I knew a yiddish word that I could insert here) that my husband has been about my over packing. Admittedly, I am terrible when it comes to foreseeing how much clothing, etc, I/we will need on any trip that we go on, but this is even more frustrating because 1) we are going for 3 weeks. 2) there are the kids to consider and they will be getting dirty alot and will be all sweaty, so that means they will want to change their clothes; 3) there's me - I don't want to have to wash my clothes over and over again especially because I airdry my clothes and if I get to take more, there are so many cute little outfits that I might actually get to wear. Ok, maybe not, but who knows, we might be able to actually enjoy a romantic night out and I can wear that something sexy that I've been holding on to, like FOREVER. I've also lost 20 lbs and so I am finally able to fit back into all those cute outfits. Yea for me!!! 4) and this is a big one, we are not staying with just one or two families. We are traveling around constantly and staying with many folks (doing the couchsurfing thing), so it's not like I can bring a few things, hang them up, do wash every few days, etc. Well, the way hubby looks at it, that's all the reason why to limit our clothing. To him, there is no need to have 12 pairs of socks, or underwear for the kids, or to have 12 tshirts/shorts for each kid. I should only bring half of that and just keep washing them. And you know, it will probably be ME doing the washin. I'm just sayin'.

So you see, we are having a slight tug of war over this. And I hate to see the expression on his face when he sees all the shoes I am bringing for the kids and I. But hey, there are the Crocs which are great for water (Natalie & Noah); the hiking sandals (all three of us); sneakers (all three of us); and my nice flats (one or two pairs - uh oh, I'm ducking).

There are the toiletries, including travel curlers, hair dryer, brushes, hairbands, hair products; there are the electronics (his lap top), camera, portable dvd player, videocamera, and natalie's early birthday gift - a metal detector - figured we could sneak up to an archaelogical site and search for old coins (just kidding) - nah we will try it at the beach. It's really quite small and very portable, something we picked up at Target; there are the four sleeping bags; a bag full of stuff that folks in Israel wanted us to bring to them; and of course thank you gifts for everyone's generousity.

Well the good news is that we will have a mini-van in Israel just to carry all this stuff around. We found these really nice folks who wanted to do a carswap, so they got ours and we got theirs.

I'm kinda thinking that this is going to turn out like a National Lampoon vacation. Hey that's a great idea. Maybe afterwards, I will show them our videotapes, our pictures, our diary and whatever else we managed to used to document our family fun, and who knows, maybe you will soon see a trailer of the next National Lampoon movie - Israel, starring us or at least base on the true adventures of the Selvins!!!

Tim Russert, Your Presence Will Be Missed

To say that David and I were stunned to hear the news of his sudden death would be an understatement. We didn't know him personally, but like millions of other mourners, we were very sad to hear of his passing. I can't say exactly why it's affecting me the way is, but he just seemed like a gentle, warm human being, that I respected very much.

I have always enjoyed listening to his commentaries and news reports and as the moderator for Meet the Press, I found him to be honest, fair, and respectful of others. Unlike some of the other political news shows, whose guests and moderators will often leave me feeling tense because of their aggressive and juvenile behavior, Tim Russert's charm, intelligence and directness without being a bully, made a difference with how I viewed these types of shows, the issues, and the guests. With him at the helm, the tone and direction wasn't angry or antagonistic but displayed a maturity and professionalism often lacking today, in politics and journalism.

His wake was today in Washington DC, and I wish that I had the opportunity to go and offer my deepest sympathies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to but just watching it on the news this evening, brought tears to my eyes.

His presence will be missed.

Our condolences to his family.

Happy 90th Birthday Harriet

Recently David and I were invited to celebrate our cousin's 90th birthday. To know this woman, you would never believe she is really 90 years old. She drives, she travels, she supports the arts, and she's a riot to go shopping with. She's a caregiver to her daughter, she has a very handsome boyfriend, she's involved with different committees and social clubs, and she is one of the funniest and wittiest women that I know - often leaving me turning red from the comments that she makes. She always seems to be doing for others without ever asking for herself, from the very young to the very old, everyone loves her and finds her easy to talk to. She is elegant and is quite beautiful, and as you can see, I just adore her. She is simply a fantastic role model for all ages.

We love you Harriet. Our lives are so much richer with you in it. Happy Birthday!!!

Ruby & Harriet

Lorraine, Harriet & Muriel

(Lorraine is Muriel's daughter, and Muriel is Harriet's baby sister,

and my other Dearest Friend that I also love very much)

Life Lessons From an Eight Year Old

Why is it that both my husband and I almost always seem to learn something new from our daughter, whenever we are driving in the car?

Life lesson # too many to count -

Talia: Mom, you know what Carly said to me?"

Mom: "No, what did she say?"

Talia: "Carly said that if you play with your nipples then they will pop inside and won't come out."

WHAT can I do with this information? How can I possibly redirect this into an educational lesson?

Mom: "Well, if you touch them, sometimes they can do that but they don't stay like that. I wouldn't worry about it since you don't usually play with nipples. (NO COMMENTS!).

Talia: "Mom do you play with your nipples? (Mom: No) Did you play with your nipples when you were a little girl?

Mom: "No, I had toys to play with, so no need to play with my nipples (HEY ... NO COMMENTS), but perhaps what Carly meant was not playing, but touching, out of curiousity."

Mom: "If you are curious, it's ok to explore your body. Don't worry about them staying inside. They won't."

Mom: "Are you sure she said they go inside or that they popped outward - you know like goose bumps. When you body gets really cold, you get goosebumps, including your nipples, do you think that is what she meant?"

Talia: "No mom, she said that you shouldn't play with your nipples because they will go inside."

Mom: "Well, don't worry about it."

David and I have been walking around the house, just shaking our heads lately, stifling bouts of laughter, never knowing from which kid it's going to come from - these life lessons.

I know, this is just the beginning .....

The Merry Month of March

We've certainly been busy with many celebrations and joyful activities lately.

We started out with the Poetry Slam. This cool cat was the brilliant idea of David. He developed the idea with his classroom. Each student recited their own or borrowed poetry in front of the class. In the tradition of the Beatniks, they wore black and snapped their fingers in approval. It was such a hit, David was asked if he would organized a school event, opened to all students and whomever else would like to go on stage and recite poetry. The theme - a coffeehouse with candles at each table, everyone wore black, snapped their fingers instead of clapping, and even had a musician in the background, playing jazz as each one spoke. It was a huge success. He packed in a full house and kids and adults of all ages, got up and recited poetry. Even Natalie got into the act and recited, "Mr. Nobody".

My birthday soon followed. It started off a week before at my sister's house. She threw together a little party, where I enjoyed eating, opening gifts, and playing the wii. The celebration continued on throughout the week with the kids excitedly sharing with me their colorful birthday creations. On my actual birthday, I was awoken to lots of kisses and a birthday song. But the fun didn't stop there - my day at work was filled with birthday wishes and when I got home, I was greeted with flowers, a delicious meal and a surprise birthday cake that David made. My friend Nilofar came over and surprised me with a beautiful, hand-made table runner from Iran and we had a wonderful time watching Lost together. Something we haven't been able to do in almost a year, since she moved away from the neighborhood.

read the card-I don't think it was chosen for the words inside : )

Life slowed down somewhat mid-month but soon picked up again last week. There was Noah's school play, Purim, and Noah's 6th birthday.

The night before Purim, Noah's kindergarten class performed a play for the parents. The children came up with an idea, wrote the play, created and painted the backdrops and costumes, and of course performed it for us. It was absolutely adorable and quite a success. Afterwards they each showed off their book reports. The subject was dinosaurs and the children had to do research on the Internet, write a story and illustrate it, and then recite it to the audience of parents. It was awesome to watch each of them reading - in Kindergarten. Their teacher, Mrs. Dean is a dynamic, amazing woman and teacher. We are very lucky to have her as Noah's teacher. Noah has already progressed into first grade reading and math levels. This is a great accomplishment. When he started Kindergarten he was slightly behind but now he is flying high.

Because the kids were off from school on Friday (Noah's birthday, Purim and Good Friday) and we wanted to share his birthday with his classroom, we began Noah's birthday celebration a day before. I brought in cupcakes and goodie bags. But all the fun and junk food didn't end there. A few hours after school ended, Noah, Natalie, David and I headed out for our Purim celebrations. The Megilla reading was brought to life through music, songs, and a wonderful puppet play that we enjoy attending year after year. Afterwards, I headed home with Noah (hey - Lost was on - I can't miss that) and David took Natalie to our shul and continued the fun by hanging out with friends and partying it up at their carnival.

Friday morning was filled with birthday hugs and kisses to Noah, and then delivering our Mishloah Manot baskets to the children's friends. That evening, we continued his birthday celebration with a huge family get together dinner. David's mother drove down from New Jersey to spend the weekend with us, David's uncle came by and of course, my sister and brother-n-law were there, as well as my niece and her children. A fun time was had by all and Noah was especially excited by his Spiderman birthday cake and all his birthday gifts.

And it didn't end there either!!! The next morning, Noah continued his celebration with three close friends, his sister and Grandma. I took them out for breakfast and then to the movies to watch Horton Hears a Who? Afterwards we had to time to wind down, before heading back out for dinner. Where of course, what's dinner without dessert and a little embarrassment. Yes, it was arranged to have all the servers come over and sing Happy Birthday.

Whew! What a weekend. We topped it off this morning by picking up Natalie from a birthday party sleepover and then headed to the Kosher Pastry Oven for a delicious breakfast and then said goodbye to Grandma.

So what else is on the schedule? Plenty! Spring has arrived, the trees and flowers are blossoming, the birds are singing and there are more festivities and get togethers to enjoy.

Are there any songs that you listen to, that almost anytime you hear them, chokes you up and fill your eyes with tears? For me, the answer is yes. I have a great attachment to music, and definitely, there are songs, that everytime I listen to them, I always get emotional.

One of them is Barbara Streisand's Papa Can You Hear Me, from the movie Yentle. When I was just 19 years old, my father passed away in Israel. Soon after he died, and I returned back to the US, this movie came out. And to this day, everytime I listen to it, I cry.

Here is a clip of the song.




The Hatikva is another one of those songs, I get so emotional over. I don't know when it began, but whenever I hear it, no matter where I hear it - on TV, a school function, browsing through youtube, or even like today at the closing ceremony of my daughter's Bnei Akiva meeting - The Hatikva always has the same affect on me ... tears.

Well, here is a funny coincidence. When I was thinking of what I wanted to share in this post and the meaning behind the song, Papa Can You Hear Me , I thought about a small soundbite of my father's voice that my brother had a recording of. My brother Steve put together a little presentation that he sent to all the family which included one of these priceless moments. I hadn't listen to this in a long time, so I forgot that not only was I on the clip, but, I am singing The Hatikva.

So like me, but probably for a VERY different reason, after you listen to this version (circa 1977), you too will cry, everytime you hear it played.

(btw, the photos in the presentation were taken a few years after the recording. They are mostly of me at my Bat Mitzvah - where you can see I still had lots of babyfat.)

Dad, You're Not a Virgin

Uh oh, I'm not ready for this yet. I know it's just around the corner - the sex conversation but PLEASE not now. At age 6, we discussed in very dry, scientific detail the basics of how babies are born, but nothing about VIRGINS or SEX. Yikes!!!

Check out David's new blog, The Random Traveler, and Other Stories to read about the conversation he had with our daughter, during their car ride home from school.