20 hours left

the countdown has begun. dont get me wrong i love my childrena nd bh this week was 1000 times better then last years winter break. but i am glad it is over. i would also like to point out that since my kids are going to charedi schools next year they dont get winter break!!!!! they get off a long chanukah weekend and long weekend the week before everyone else has off. so this was my last time!!!
a recap of this past weeks events:
adam was sick the whole week with an exception of monday. we went out for our anniversary. [which no one from this family remembered]. the food wasnt good but was nice to get out. tuesday was chavis bday party. very cute, she was glad when it was over. i ended up meeting my in laws and shoshana for dinner in the city tuesday nite. i needed t get out to keep my sanity. wednesday was supposed to be mall/ picture day. but yos came down with fever and i ended up going with chavi alone. we went to the disney store and took pics of her since she wanted to and i had a coupon [i will post the results as soon as they email thme to me]. thursday it what we would like to call just shoot me bc i am going to lose my mind. yos woke the whole house up at 345 bc he was burning with fever. bh rumbles went rite back to sleep. yos ended up in my room and finally fell back asleep at 450 chavi didnt fall back asleep till 530. yos went to the dr int he morning and he has strep so i was stuck in the house all day with all 3 kids, a sick husband and no julie [more on that saga another time]. bh we went to my in laws for shobbos bc the walls of my house are closing in on me.
ok thats it from here. looking forward to everyone returning home in the next few hours.

I hate Tu B'Shvat

What is the point of Tu B'shvat. The Holiday is a zionist ploy just to boost the economy to sell bukar to unsuspecting school children. I remember every year HALB's women league would come and give out goodie bags for Tu B'shvat. They were the worst goodie bags ever, if you were lucky you would get a sunkist in your bag. I am going to listen to a shiur now on the "holiday" and I will let everyone know if my opinion changes but until then we are not celebrating Tu B'shvat in the heights this year.

PS - I love the YU seforim sale, more to follow on this later

A moving Birthday

I hate birthdays. You have to tell people it is your birthday just so they can say HAPPY BIRTHDAY. (I have also been getting a lot of text, there is the no frills happy birthday, the overly excited HAPPY BIRTHDAY, the tons of exclamation points happy birthday!!!!!!! and so much more). This year I thought it would be no different but for some reason it is. I dont know if someone just sent out a group email behind my back or something else but a lot of people are remembering this year. Not that I am one to need my ego built up anymore, but its nice for some reason when you get the random happy birthday email. SO, i would like to express hakaros hatov to all those who called me for my birthday and just letting the olam know for some reason birthdays matter, so remember them.

PS - Im going to the seforim sale tonight, maybe ill get a "special" birthday present

Happy B-Day Chaim J

On behalf of The Gross Family Blog, we would like to wish the rosh bolg, Chaim Gross, a happy birthday. Ad nayeh v'asrim.

My Resume

Today I had my meeting with the Career Development center. They said I had to make a Resume. Here is my practice.

HASC - I prefer non-verbal campers because they cant talk back to you. There was a joke in camp on who had a shorter attention span chaim's campers or chaim. Went there three summers and am still single, Is it great that I went there three summers or is it nebach because I went there three summers and am still single

Camp Stone - No it has nothing to do with drugs

DRS - Was a honors roll student and did not participate in any extra curricular activities.

Yeshiva University - Attended for college and had way too much fun for it to be considered college. One of the few and proud to say he went there. Is a failure because he wants to get a Job but can still out learn my brother in laws under the table (bring it)

am I missing anything?

HALB TRIP - for those of us that cant make it

I think there should be a HALB trip for all of us stuck in america while our families are partying it up in israel (Me, Steven Genachowski, Elliot Samuels, and im sure much more) . On friday night we will go to a hotel in the city. We will daven in Bnei Yeshurin at "the wall" (for those of you not fimiliar they have a full size picture of the kosel with a fake gate around it in the shul (if you want just ask Moshe Chaim)) and then walk to our hotel for a catered friday night dinner. We will have one of the recently back from Israel kids give the Dvar torah followed by Eli Hagler making announcments with corny jokes (we will also bring some parents to laugh hysterically at the jokes). Then we will go to sleep and out of nowhere will appear hundreds of boys and girls to Hock in the lobby all through the night. Shabbos day we will have a normal nice meal and then by shalosh shoodas Eli will get up saying "nisht shabbos geret, this is our plans for the entire week". We will make a communal havdalah then head back to the heights.

Can you please pass this on to Richie.

YU Seforim Sale

Not only a "seforim" sale.

I think im ready to start dating

Today I had the most grown up day of my life (I was going to write productive but I learnt the hard way that that isnt always true). I met with academic advising about what I should Major and Minor in and also the Career Development Center about summer internships this summer. (Great Mayseh: When I was in Academic Advising a saw a lady staring me down (I had no clue who it was) and she came over and introduced herself as Heidi Fuchs (pronounced few ooks) and said she didnt recognize me with my beard. I explained to her it is for Manuary and Prostate cancer awareness (yes that is why Moshe Chaim and Adam have beards also) (you guys should be happy I didnt hear about Movember where you grow out your mooostach). ) YADA YADA YADA - I still dont know about my major, my minor, or what Im doing this summer. But i really am becoming a real person

PS - How can I put my movies on a resume?

Beis Yisroel Catering

Adam, Mindy, Chaim....just wanted to make you jealos.

Beis Yisroel. We put the "hei" in "hemish."
(don't worry thats not really there slogan, they dont know what the word slogan means.)

I dont know what title to use.... maybe the.....no......

As we (Me, Mommy, Batya, Ruch, and Perchei) were walking to go excange money Batya told us what she hates most that parents do: "I hate how parents bribe their kids with food, it just drives me crazy." 5 minutes later when we came to the exchange place Ruch started crying, and having a tantrum. "OK hold on Ruch, Batya then went to the store next door and got her a lollipop. WAIT! TIMEOUT! IS THIS CONSIDERED BRIBING!? "Mikey don't post this on the blog really, it's different I wasn't really "bribing" her. Later Ruch had another tantrum, and I told her if she keeps crying Mommy will get you an ice coffee. (PLEASE NOTE: Batya let me post this eventually)

charles

i thought that chaim had so much free time bc it was reading week then vacation. apparently he just has to much free time. the kids get to wear pajamas to school tomorrow. why you may ask. b/c it seems king paroh ran around looking for moshe in the middle of the night. and what was he wearing, thats right follks, his pajamas. iyh pics to follow.

Website Idea

Its called SpotTheSweatshirt.com. Its for that time that you are in California on vacation just hanging out with some friends and out of nowhere you spot a HASC sweatshirt. You go and take a picture and put it on the website. Its a good way to connect new and old HASC staff.

For Example:

Type: Green sweatshirt/Blue Writing

Year:2003

Location: Second Floor of the new Beis Medrash YU

Story: Just going to learn a little between classes and there he was. When he turned around I took the picture with my phone and ran away, hopefully unnoticed.

If only I can do this for a living

The Rosh has returned

Baruch Hashem Im feeling a lot better. I have started to be able to keep down food and a result have been drinking blue powerade. You can imagine what color my doodie is, I feel like I ate Cookie Monster with a side of smerfs. Im not sure what I am going to be doing for shabbos so if anyone has any ideas let me know.

Refuah Shelama

On behalf of all the members of the Gross Family Blog we would like to wish a Refuah Shelama to the Rosh Blog, Chaim G. Chaim, our thoughts are prayers are with you.

Life is funny: A True Story(s) written by: Mikey Gross

Over the past day and a half life has been funnier then ever, I share with you today 3 true (and funny) stories of my life:
1. On the way to the airport mommy popped in her new AVRAHAM FRIED, LIVE IN ISRAEL! CD. An oh so inspiring song about doing chessed, and midos tovos was playing, and mommy, and Chaim decided that it would be a good idea to start dancing, naturally I told them to stop, because they were being extremely embarrassing, and someone was bound to see them. surely enough the person in the car next to us saw them, and...... started dancing also. Mommy was extremely embarrassed.

2. Once we took our stuff out of the taxi when we got to Israel, (pleasee note we were dropped off on the sidewalk in front of the Inbal, becuase that's a very important part of the story) a bell hop came outside and starting putting our stuff on the cart, we then told him that we weren't staying at the hotel, and we needed our stuff back.

3. After that akward moment, a taxi cab pulls up, and asks where we need to go, he didn't really speak english, and we had to explain to him that we weren't going anywhere. well thats what you get for being in a "prime location".

Yosemite

A film from our trip, hope you enjoy:

you know you are a parent...

when 2 out of 3 of your kids have vomited in a 36 hour period and you have to clean them up. wait, its gets better. yos decided to throw up at 11:15 last nite. which means we had to clean him up, clean up the bedroom floor [in 2 different spots] and change the linen in the dark!!! geshmak!! but bh everyone seems to be feeling better. my fingers are crossed on rumbles.

preparations are underway for visiting day

The kids soaked in the bath for two hours and then I brought in my chizzel to get the dirt out underneath roch's neck. I flossed my teeth. M.C. took out a couple of seforim and put them on the table to make it seem like hes learning (really the reverse occured.) The floor is swept. Rochels got all her lines down. Cant wait for unlce mikey and bubby to come.

wow!

i really haven't blogged for a while! nothing much is going on in my life except for that i just broke up with my girlfriend (Mindy would have already known that, if i was friends with her on Facebook, but she keeps on ignoring me). excited to go to israel, cant wait to see ruch ruch, but i figured out a good way to get her to speak to me, i came across this when i was talking to batya a few days ago...........

me: can i say hi to ruch?

B: ya hold on..... ruch come say hi to uncle mikey

Ruch: (in the backround) no! (then she made that weird whining sound which i cant imitate through words)

B: mikey, rochel leah doesn't want to talk to you

me: then tell her uncle mikey isn't bringing you ice coffee

ONE SECOND LATER.....

Ruch: huh hah huh hah huh hah (large breathing sound in the phone)

Mikey

Will you eat my leftovers Sunday night for dinner? (considering that they arent really leftovers for you.) If not i can make you my world famous "yeshvish whole wheat challah french toast"!
Debbie- your invites tuesday night for sunday nights left over "yeshivish whole wheat challah french toast"
Batya j

adams haara

i was just catching adam up on this weeks blog. he said that if there is anything we can learn from the blog is that Batya is by far the funniest person in the family [this is in refrence to her miami boys choir line]. sorry boys.

Linen Sharing

Ta, Mommy and I are making plans about next shabbos. Ma and Ta want to get MC and I a hotel room. I told Ma that she and Ta should stay in a hotel room and MC and I will sleep (happily) in the new dira. Mommy said that the only problem would be that she would need to switch the linen. I said that it wouldnt be a problem and MC and I cant wait to sleep on Ma and Ta's linen. But then she responded but then after shabbos she would need to change it because MC and I slept on the linen. Would you be insulted?

Can I do this full time?

I think i want to be a professional hiker. All I need to do is put on a southern accent and be very nice. Im not sure how all these people make money just hiking but they have to or else they wouldnt be able to hike everyday. If that doesnt work I want to make a kollel called Kollel Bachutz, where we learn about Hashem through the nature around. (if it just seems like hiking all day, your not too far off). Got to go learn something.

Good Night Team

I still exist

Despite my apsence from the blog i want to let everyone know i still exist. we got to Yosemite around 5 and set up shot. Start cooking meat and setting up the Internet (is there anything else to life). We had taco night and baked potatos (no utensils required). We then proceeded to go to the hot tub in the back on the cliff of the mountain (gishmak). BH good times all around.

Eli and Avital

While at Eli's chassunah I asked MC if he liked me as much as Eli likes Avital. The answer was No.

Batya j

Chaims Alive!

Spoke to chaim at 2:35 am NY time. He seems great. Willing to bet that chaim end up marrying a girl from Oakland, CA. Were having four bachrum tonight and three disabled girls for lunch. Esther slept through the night last night (al tiftach peh l'satan) Good shabbos to all.

The Jacobowitz's

connectors

the following converstion took place around the breakfast room this morning.

chavi : tatti why do you have two beards

a: what do u mean

c: points to mustache then points to his chin

a: b/c some people arent lucky enough to have connectors

Yosef Siach Yitzchak Prep

A few days ago I had the pleasure of babysitting Yosef before his Talmud Torah Siach Yitzchak (its as Charadei as they get here in the Five Towns) interview. I decided to take it upon myself to get him ready for the interview. These video tapes are the real thing. Little did I know we would have so much in common.

chaim seems bored

Hi my name is Chaim Gross and I am addicted to the Library

Have you ever got that feeling, just wishing you can go back to simpler more fun times. Well I wish I can go back to the YU Library during study week. It puts the gush in Gushmak. I always know where my friends are (in the library). I always had someone to talk to. I always had a girl that I had to speak to because we went to camp hasc together. I always had a couple to spy on. I always had something to blog about. I was always doing something, plotting something, something something. It mamish was bechinas Camp Hasc (in a high functioning bunk). Only 112 more days to reading week of next semester. (the number is made up, its just a joke that i am counting down to reading week next semester already).

Nothing to blog about

I mamish have nothing to say. I lost my cell phone and my credit card (got the credit card back, but if anyone sees my phone it says captain on the back). I still dont have a love interest in my life. Im still modern orthodox (ewwwww). Little did I know the depression I would go through after having to leave the YU library. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit more exciting.

Aufruf house

This shabbos I was at an Aufruf. (No way, you were at an aufruf that never happens.) The aufruf was very nice, and so was the house we stayed at. The highlight of the house was the second floor bathroom had a urinal and the second I set my eyes on it, I knew I had to use it . The special moment came after lunch, I went for it, was successful and flushed. So it flushed and continued to flush and then flushed some more. I BROKE THE URINAL. Who breaks a urinal? The son came upstairs (must have heard me laughing uncontrollably) and started banging the handle saying this happens every time. After five minutes of banging and me trying to make awkward conversation the toilet stopped flushing. I didnt think there can be any downside to having a urinal in your house (its a lot harder to miss in a urinal then a toilet (talking about aiming, when is Yosef being toilet trained (he is going to be the worst aimer))). Iyh in my house i will have a urinal. AMEN.

This convo took place over 35x in the J house over shabbos.....

RL: Bubby Zeide Coming
BJ: No
RL: Not yet
BJ: Not yet
RL: Oh

btw, ester p has 104

gut voch, bassie j

Courtesy of google translator

DoudHHodder wrote: Ideas and theories, your call to precede action, but there is more noble than the ideas or theories of - - so deep but so true

I always knew we would have international appeal (I know its corny, I couldn't help myself). But on the topic of corny, at the end of my Five Megillot (yes its megilloT) essay i wrote "Sorry for writing you a whole megillah. Just thought you should know.