(half) birthdays

My birthday this year coincides with Tisha B'Av, which is a day of fasting for Jews commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temple as well as other Jewish tragedies, such as the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in the 1400s. It is considered "the saddest day in Jewish history." The Books of Lamentation and Job are read on this day. Go me!

I guess inviting Jewish friends to feast with me tomorrow is out of the question... I'm actually wondering if I could ask Daniel to babysit the kids so I could have extra time to clean the bathrooms and sweep/mop the floors. That would be nice, like when I mopped the floor for the first time since we arrived in Israel with a new mop on Christmas Day. The floor's really been bugging me but I haven't had a chance to deal with it.

Not to be outdone, Petra turned half a year old today. *Applause* For her birthday trick, she has added rolling onto her back from a planking position by flinging her big head backwards in conjunction with a jaunty swing of her chubby thighs. We are entering a new phase in our relationship--one is which Mommy can no longer do chores or be in any other room while Petra's napping/sleeping besides right next to the bed for fear of Daughter crawling to the edge of the bed and plummeting to the cold, hard floor.

Ah, so fun.

I'm learning all sorts of skills. Try to keep up, Mom!