Update on the missing Gallors....

My apologies for ignoring a lot of you. I've reached the point when I hear the text noise, it is unwelcome background noise that I don't get to until hours later when the text doesn't apply anymore. This is not to say forget about me, I'm just going through a text slump.

Usually I jump at the sound of that text - my welcome outside communication. Maybe there's just so much outside communication in my life right now that I can't handle one more "How are you and the kids doing?" It's like, let me put that on my to-do list - tell so and so how I am doing. (Again, do not get discouraged, I want to hear from you. This is just an explanation to my ignoring people lately.)

I think things are beginning to settle down now. Those little ones are getting comfortable in their new skin, living among the chassidish world. (My mom's street in Monsey is full-fledged chassidish.) Penina finally went to sleep without crying tonight BORUCH HASHEM twenty times over. That has been a huge source of anxiety for me. Typical. (My mom is such a huge support of the crying it out system. It used to drive me crazy when I only had one kid. One complaint from me and she'd sing the praises of crying it out. I told her under no circumstances would I torture my child. Sleep was not important and I would NEVER even consider it. Along comes child #4 and I am Torture Commandant #1. My sleep is way more important. Well, not really. Really it all comes down to that I have 3 little other things who need me and I cannot give my entire day over to a baby who needs to be held while sleeping. Only because she goes to sleep three times a day plus bedtime.)

Monsey has changed. Boy has Monsey changed. I was shell-shocked for the first few days. To begin they have opened up an entire frum mall. It's modern and shiny and new and has everything you can possibly dream of. I went on Saturday night with Hubs and we had a choice of three delectable places to choose from at 11pm. This is me, coming from Seattle, where the closest kosher restaurant is a 15 minute drive and closes at 7pm. I was overwhelmed with the choice possibilities.  First I couldn't decide on the place, so I texted my brother who's worked in almost all of them and he gave me his top ten list. Then once we chose "Hava Java" and were blown away by the hugeness of it, we couldn't decide on a food. Once again I texted my brother who said, "Everything they make is delicious." I got a bagel stick with some extravagant white looking fish. I asked them to put whatever normally goes with it in a sandwich and it came with butter, cucumber and red peppers. It cost $10.50 but is a sandwich I will remember forever. Then I had two fat bulging cheese blintzes with a fancy chocolate design on top for dessert. I think it was really cheesecake in costume.

Then Husband left to Providence and I was left to my own devices, with the help of my parents of course. I made a schedule, since I noticed my kids had no sense of direction and were getting nowhere extremely slowly. We have reward stickers with huge presents coming on Friday. The present idea grew and grew and became larger by the amount of misbehavior that I just couldn't handle anymore. With the looming idea of LaLaLoopsie dolls and exciting toys with buttons and lights, behavior is getting a bit more hand-able. It's hard having no direction, no school and no sense of home. Every child is dealing with it in their own way and poor Mommy has to hold it all together and be the loving unchangeable solid permanence in their lives.