Back to the Land of the Living

Sorry if it seems that I've fallen off the face of the earth! We've had a pretty rough week and a half, but I think, if I dare say it, we are all more or less healthy. We did cancel our trip to the states, which I think was for the better although I'm sad not to be able to see everyone. Eli has been back in daycare since Thursday and is doing very well. He's been eating non-stop since then so is gaining back the weight that he lost. It was very sad to see him after being sick for so long--he wasn't so fat to begin with and he just looked so gaunt. But he is looking much better now. I sent Simon to gan on Thursday, mostly because I was feeling so sick that I needed the morning to sleep, and I totally shouldn't have sent him because he definitely wasn't feeling that well. He stayed home on Friday and has progressively gotten better. Today he told me: "I am not completely better just yet. It is going to take me a little while." He was definitely more himself today though. Both boys went to school happily and I got the apartment cleaned up and even did some work.
When I picked them up, I wanted to take Simon to get a haircut right away since the poor kid couldn't see anything since his hair was so long. The haircutter put a pillow on a chair for Simon to sit on and without hesitating Simon pointed to it and said to the guy "ani lo rotzeh et zeh," which means "I don't want that." I love it that he knows when he is supposed to speak in Hebrew and when he should speak in English.
After his haircut, I told him we could go to the Shekel Shop and he could get something. Weirdly enough, he picked a little square of halavah. There isn't much of a selection at that store but it's a good post-haircut prize place. Simon mentioned that he likes the haircut prizes "at Boston" better. Outside the shekel shop, Simon noticed a burger place and he asked for a hamburger for lunch. I totally didn't believe him that he would eat a hamburger so I tried to convince him that we should go home for lunch, but he was pretty insistent. The weather was beautiful and the kids had been cooped up inside for so many days that I figured I'd get one hamburger and in the worst case, we would all share it. Simon ate almost the entire thing, bun and all. I was shocked. Next time I will take him somewhere that actually makes decent hamburgers!! Although, for a hole-in-the wall place in the middle of an alley called "Home Burger" it wasn't bad. And the fries were very good. Eli even ate them dipped in ketchup which is unusual for him.
After the burger, we came home just for a few minutes and then went to meet Tali, Boaz and Uri in the park. The boys had a fantastic time together. Simon taught Boaz how to play baseball using a big stick and a pinecone. Eli wasn't quite as brave on the slide this time, but he had fun too.
We bumped into David on the way home, but he was just coming home to get the car and then he was leaving again. Simon was a little bit sad because he wanted David to come inside with us, but he got over it when he noticed that I had added his own log-in on the computer. He saw it and said "hey, look! It says "Simon" there--I need to click and see what I have on my computer." I told him to open his Mozilla (which he still calls Chinchilla) and he was thrilled that it went straight to Hot Wheels! He played a little bit and then both boys ate dinner and had a bath and went to bed.
I'm glad we got outside a lot today because apparently it is now going to be cold and rainy until Wednesday. Could be worse...at least it doesn't snow in Ra'anana!
I will post pictures tomorrow--need to go to bed now.