Team Liz in America

Visit with

2010-01-02T13:10:00.001-05:00

Jory and Liz had a lovely day with Uncle Mark.
We visited Imagine That! a New Jersey children's museum.

Mark helped Jory do some crafts.

New Year's Day

2010-01-01T13:21:00.001-05:00

Jory woke-up on New Year's Day at Safta's house. This was her first sleep-over without one of her parents present and Jory did great. When Liz arrived to pick her up she was happily scanning the NY Times.

Jory and Liz then went to celebrate Ruby and Ellie's first bday. What a great party for two great girls!

Then that evening Jory and Liz lit shabbat candles. We were sad to still be without Saul but happy that he would be returning on Sunday!

Happy New Year!

Bike Riding

2009-07-27T15:57:00.005-04:00

Today we adventured out on bikes. With the help of our new friends (Joraam and Rosaly) who hosted us for Friday night dinner, Saul planned a wonderful bike ride in the area north of Amsterdam. It began with a ferry ride with our bikes to the otherside of the river IJ. The ferry ride was about 5 minutes. Jory began the day in a bike seat in front of Saul that is up by the handle-bars. By the end of the day we had moved her into "the box", which is literally a box with a seat and seat belt that is placed between the front wheel and the handle-bar. These seem to be very popular around Amsterdam - good for carting your kids, dogs or groceries. Jory looked like a little princess eating her cheerios being driven around by Saul.

We explored the wetlands and saw some really unbelievable pastural scenes as well as beautiful old towns. We do not have so many photos from our adventure so you will have to trust us that it was beautiful! Check out our map - still working on remember the entire route - but this should give you a nice idea of our trip.

Ton Fun

2009-07-24T06:05:00.001-04:00

While Liz and Mark explored the world of den Haag - or at least some of the museums - Saul and Jory went to the recommended indoor fun center known as Ton Fun. Please note, that adults are not allowed in without being escorted by a child!

In den Haag

2009-07-23T18:02:00.005-04:00

Mark and Liz took a day trip to den Haag today, while Jory and Saul explored Amsterdam a little more. If you want to check-out a little bit about Liz and Mark's adventure's you can follow this link to their google map.

Here is a photo that Liz took with her camera, of Mark taking a picture with his camera at the Escher Museum. If you look closely, in the sphere that Mark is holding you can see Liz relfected...this was as close to an Escher style affect that Liz could figure.

In Amsterdam

2009-07-22T11:27:00.004-04:00

The whole family has arrived and we are loving our time here. We are staying in a truly special home. The house is in the neighborhood known as the Joordan. We are walking distance from lots of terrific places. The house comes with a lovely cat as well as two rabbits who live in the beautiful backyard. Needless to say between the cat and the rabbits, Jory would be happy to hang around the house all day! Here is a self-portrait of teamliz.

Please follow this link to an interactive map, courtesy of google, to check-out some of the places we have visited, and would like to visit during this vacation.

On a Jet Plane

2009-07-19T06:08:00.001-04:00

We had a relatively easy trip from Newark to Amsterdam. Jory slept some, enjoyed an episode of The Simpsons and LOVED looking out the window. Here is a shot of Saul and Jory enjoying our landing.

Summer Vacation

2009-07-17T11:38:00.000-04:00

Team Liz is about to tour the world again, well actually just Holland! But we are super excited. We are heading out to the Netherlands for two fabulous weeks. We are thrilled that Mark (Saul's brother) will be joining us for a week of our time there. The packing started a couple of days ago and we are reaching critical mass! We will try to post some of our adventures on this blog - but certainly check-out our Facebook profiles for current photos.

This photo is from our last trip in Amsterdam in June 2006.

Adventure in Norwalk

2009-07-15T11:54:00.002-04:00

Liz and Jory drove up to Norwalk, CT to spend some time with our friend Mike and his kids, Paul and Martha. They explored the wonders of the Norwalk Aquarium...a pretty fun place for small kids, actually.

Dershstock

2009-07-06T12:10:00.004-04:00

How do you know it's summer? You can find Team Liz celebrating July 4th with our friends at Dershstock an annual party near Woodstock, NY. Here are some fun photos from our weekend.

Seen here, Saul and Jory with one of our weekend hosts, Adam.

June 2009

2009-06-29T11:34:00.001-04:00

It is tough keeping a blog current with the rest of life getting in the way. So here is a quick, recent photo of Jory in all of her glory. She is growing up fast and learning all sorts of fun tricks (she knows where her head, nose, ears, tongue, belly, feet and hands are).

As you can see, she has her own sense of style, already.

Team Liz in San Diego

2009-04-14T12:45:00.002-04:00

Team Liz took a very brief but fun trip to San Diego. We headed out from NYC on Friday, April 10th and returned late Sunday night, April 12th. We went to surprise Liz's dear friend LeAnne in honor of her 50th birthday. There are so many wonderful photos to look at from the actual party we encourage you to check out Liz's kodak gallery.
This photo is of Team Liz on the beach on Sunday before we left to return to NYC.

Passover 5769

2009-04-10T12:52:00.002-04:00

Team Liz celebrated Passover with family and friends. First night was at Liz's mom Marti's home in Manhattan. Liz led the seder for the first time while Marti fed the small army of 20 guests. Saul and Saul's brother Mark helped lead the seder as well.

Second night was held out in Brooklyn. This is a tradition that dates back about 20 years. Saul's friends started the 2nd seder as a way to ensure that no one would be bored at a 2nd seder. So the group of attendees has grown over the years and the major difference is that now everyone is bringing their own kids. Thanks to Deborah and Adam, as always, for hosting!

Jory is 1

2009-04-09T12:40:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to baby Jory. We celebrated with a small party on April 4th and then again with lots of well wishes on Jory's actual birthday, April 8th which was erev pesach. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and the lovely gifts.

In DC

2009-04-01T13:46:00.006-04:00

Jory, Liz and Liz's mom Marti went to DC over the last couple of days. Liz went to participate in the 3rd Annual Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Days.

She spent Monday learning how to lobby and on Tuesday she "hit the hill" and visited Senators Gillibrand and Schumer as well as Congressman Rangel and even Congressman Engel from the Bronx/Mt. Vernon. Here are some fun photos from our trip.

Jory sitting like a big girl on the Acela down to DC.

Liz standing on the steps of the Capitol.

In Liz's final meeting, which was with the actual Congressman (most often when lobbying you meet with the Legislative Aid), the Congressman agreed to co-sponsor HR 745 The Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act.

Standing Tall

2009-02-23T15:28:00.004-05:00

Jory has learned how to pull herself up and stand while holding onto pretty much anything. When we say anything we mean it...she likes our bookshelves for sure, but our dining room chairs work just as well and our kitchen cabinets too!

Playdate with Isaac Cohen - and his parents

2009-02-21T15:14:00.001-05:00

Devin and Cheryl and their son Isaac came and joined us for an afternoon of playing and pizza. Here are a couple cute photos.

Isaac enjoyed munching on the green shaky egg while Jory worked on the tupperware. Everyone was happy!

Bath Time

2009-01-24T16:01:00.000-05:00

I believe there are very few things that are truly cuter than a happy baby in the bath.

Oy!

2009-01-23T10:32:00.005-05:00

Well, admittedly it has been a LONG time since Team Liz has posted to our blog. So I understand if our avid audience has waned. In the coming days we will be trying to bring the blog up to speed for those of you out there who still check-in every once in awhile.

Here is a recent picture of Jory for your enjoyment until some other posts arrive.

Winter Pine Lake

2009-01-19T14:45:00.001-05:00

Team Liz spent one night and two days at our friend's house just north of Croton-on-the-Hudson (upper Westchester). A beautiful house with fabulous interior design from the 1950's. We joined Deborah, Adam, Jacob, Laila and Talia Iarussi (their house) and Dave and Ben Gluck for fun in the snow and hot cocoa.

9 months old!

2009-01-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

Our little girl is 9 months old! Today she had her 9 month check-up. She weighed in at 18.6 pounds and measured 26.5 inches (although we believe that she is actually 27 inches). She had a bunch more of her vaccines as well. The doctor gave us the green light to start feeding her just about anything we want - so here we go!

Friday Night Dumplings

2009-01-02T19:37:00.004-05:00

So tonight Liz decided to make some dumplings. In fact, Saul went to sleep and Liz hung out and made 90 chicken, mushroom and ginger dumplings.

In some ways making dumplings is like washing dishes...cathartic in its repetition.
Here's a photo of the finished product. There were pretty tasty...we froze the rest and have been noshing on them since.

At Home in October

2008-10-20T15:10:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple fun photos from some of our days as a family at home. Enjoy.

October in NYC

2008-10-15T15:04:00.002-04:00

Nothing is quite as nice as a beautiful October day in NYC. Team Liz headed to the park. Jory has learned the wonders of the swings as well as the beauty of the trees.

Jory Laughing

2008-10-13T21:21:00.002-04:00

Here's a recent video of Jory laughing - actually we are all laughing in this video!

Happy Belated Birthday, Saul

2008-10-12T21:53:00.000-04:00

Liz surprised Saul with a private rock climbing lesson at Chelsea Pier's climbing wall. Here are a couple photos from our time on the wall!

The trailer for Uncle Roy's movie!

2008-10-11T13:13:00.001-04:00

Jory Sitting Up . . .

2008-10-01T13:34:00.001-04:00

...sort of...

Cutest Baby Ever

2008-09-21T10:57:00.006-04:00

Alright, so we admit to being totally bias, however, we have taken a straw pull from our nearest and dearest and the votes are in...Jory is definitely competing for one of New York's cutest babies. Here are a couple recent photos to support this claim.

Banki Wedding

2008-09-14T10:46:00.001-04:00

With great joy Team Liz celebrated the recent nuptials of our friend Susan to her beloved Josh. Here is a fun photo of Dave, Kristi, Devin, Heidi and Saul giving big kisses to the bride Susan.

Off to the Ride, one more time

2008-09-01T11:23:00.005-04:00

The brothers Kaiserman took to their bikes together for the second year in a row, raising money for Hazon. Over Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend they biked about 2oo miles between the two of them.

Before the ride we shared Shabbat at Camp Kinder Ring with our dear friend Heidi - here is a family photo courtesy of Marni Mandel.

Long Hair, Short Hair...

2008-08-27T11:12:00.003-04:00

Last summer, Shakespeare In the Park created a production of Hair in honor of the 40th anniversary of the show. Liz, Saul, Devin and Cheryl enjoyed last summer's performance so much that Saul wanted to try to get a whole group of us to go again this summer.

Long story short, Uncle Mark, Quincy (Mark's dog) Liz and Jory stood (sat) on line in Central Park from around 7:30AM until 1pm when they hand out tickets. Saul and Mark spent a wonderful evening seeing Hair in the open air theater in Central Park.

Take me out to the Ball Game

2008-08-24T11:05:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Uncle Mark, Jory had the opportunity to go to one of the
final Mets games at Shea Stadium. We had a great time and
Jory even got a snooze during
the 7th inning stretch.

Great Aunt Rose turns 90

2008-07-20T15:48:00.004-04:00

Liz's great Aunt Rose (her maternal grandmother's sister-in-law) turned 90 in July. Team Liz headed out to Cranberry NJ to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Here is Liz's mom (known as Safta to her grandchildren) holding Jory and chatting with Saul.

Jory and her second cousin Matthew sit together.

Here is Saul with Liz's cousin Tukta.

Jory passes out on Liz's lap after a long day of celebrating Aunt Rose.

California Here we Come

2008-07-19T16:27:00.012-04:00

Team Liz headed out West for a short visit. We flew from Newark to SFO and spent a couple nights in a sweet little resort called Costa Noa just south of Pescadero. Liz's brother Jonathan, sister-in-law Ginny and nephew Judah met us at Costa Noa for some R&R. Our final night on the left coast we spent with our friends Lynne and Andrew and their kids Sam and Leah. All-in-all a great trip.

Judah banging on the drum while sitting on his
father's lap in a music store in Santa Cruz.

We all walked down to the tide pools on our final morning at Costa Noa. It was a bit chilly but totally beautiful.

Blessing the challah and celebrating Shabbat with good friends.

Leah and Jory just hanging around together.

Jory snoozing in the empty seat between us on the flight home from California.

New Mexico in NYC

2008-07-14T17:32:00.002-04:00

Team Liz got a surprise visit from our friend Ruth and her kids Avi and Isaiah. They were in town from New Mexico and came over for dinner and a couple of rounds of Scattagories. It was a truly fun and laugh out loud visit.

Grandma and Grandpa Kaiserman in NYC

2008-07-13T11:10:00.005-04:00

Team Liz excitedly welcomed Judy and Carl to NYC. We spent a fun weekend together. Judy and Carl got to babysit for baby Jory as well as help us hang artwork in our apartment. We even got to enjoy a meal together with Uncle Mark.

Judy, Carl and Jory hanging out and looking in the mirror.

Judy, Jory and Liz in Riverside Park. We were enjoying Shabbat services with Kol Zimrah, the independent minyan that Saul leads services for sometimes.

Laila Iarussi in Concert

2008-07-12T16:21:00.001-04:00

Team Liz's friend Laila Iarussi attended a week long summer camp called Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. After a week of jamming out Laila got on stage at a club in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to rock out with her band LOL. Team Liz attended the concert with great joy. Here is a photo of our little rock star with her Bob Marley hat. Oh yeah, Saul does have Jory's entire hand in his mouth.

Dershstock 2008

2008-07-05T17:01:00.008-04:00

After a two year hiatus Team Liz was thrilled to return to Dershstock. We headed up to Phoenicia to enjoy a lovely July 4th weekend. Funds were raised to support our dear friend Devin Cohen as he runs for Civil Court Judge in District 1 in Brooklyn, Jory had her first swimming lesson and thanks to Zara we all learned a new Yiddish song.

Saul and Heidi jamming out for a good cause.

Zara joins Saul and teaches all of us a Yiddish ditty.

Jory takes her first swim with Saul.

Heidi hanging out with Jory.

Isaac Gabriel Cohen's Brit Milah

2008-07-03T16:04:00.001-04:00

So Team Liz is blessed to be spending these early months of Jory's life welcoming to the world many new friends. Today we attended the brit milah (bris) of our new friend Isaac Gabriel Cohen, son of Cheryl Cook and Devin Cohen.

Saul leading the group in some warm-up songs as we wait for the mohel to arrive.

Amy and Heidi holding and loving Jory.

Our friend Adam and his kids Mars and Zara. It was a great surprise to see them as they live in LA.

Jory Relaxing

2008-06-01T01:22:00.000-04:00

Jory seems to LOVE hanging out on her changing table. This is a favorite spot for looking at things and exercising her growing body. Here are a couple sweet photos.

Smiling Baby

2008-05-17T22:21:00.001-04:00

It's official, Jory has learned how to smile.
Mama and Papa could not be more proud!
Today is Liz's nephew Judah's first birthday,
happy birthday!

Shabbat at Congregation Emanu-El

2008-05-16T18:46:00.003-04:00

Team Liz took Jory to Saul's final Shabbat program of the year at Temple Emanu-El known as Shabbat Kodesh. Here is a terrific photo of Saul, Jory and Saul's colleague Rabbi Howie Goldsmith. This is also Liz's brother Jonathan's birthday, happy birthday!

Mother's Day at Emanu-El

2008-05-11T01:12:00.007-04:00

Why celebrate the birth of your first child just once when you can do it three times! So today was Liz's first mother's day and in honor of Jory joining our family Team Liz hosted a final get together. Happy Mother's Day to all!

This time we celebrated with an open house at Temple Emanu-El. Our friends and family dropped by for some tasty treats and to gaze lovingly upon Jory.

David, Jennifer, Gabriel and
Nathan hanging out with Jory.

Saul, Uncle Mark and Dan enjoying some time with Jory.

Jory is Blessed at Central Synagogue

2008-04-25T20:33:00.007-04:00

So we headed over to 55th Street and Lexington Avenue to have Jory blessed and named (again). Rabbi Peter Rubinstein blessed Jory and our new family in front of the Torah on the Bimah at Central Synagogue. Liz also read from Torah and Saul had the aliyah.

Here are a couple pictures from the reception (oneg) afterwards. Tonight is also Saul's brother Mark's birthday, happy birthday!

Liz's mom Marti and step-father Jeffrey with Liz's cousin Ellen and her husband Casey and of course Jory.

Here is Liz holding Jory and sitting
with her good friend Susan and
Susan's daughter Hannah.

Meeting Great Grandpa Jerry

2008-04-21T19:23:00.000-04:00

Liz's grand father Jerry Freirich and his girlfriend Judy Golden were unable to attend Jory's naming on April 15th but stopped by today to meet their first great-granddaughter.

Second Seder

2008-04-20T20:25:00.000-04:00

Although Team Liz normally celebrates second Seder in the borough of Brooklyn - this year we stayed home and our friend Heidi joined us to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.

Jory Hazel Ida Kaiserman

2008-04-19T12:19:00.004-04:00

This past Tuesday, April 15th, in a ceremony in our apartment led by her two uncles, Rabbis Jonathan Freirich and Mark Kaiserman, our daughter was named Jory Hazel Ida; her Hebrew name is Revayah Chayah.

She is named “Jory” in memory of Liz’s father, Jeff, who passed away last October on the third day of the Hebrew month of Heshvan. Jory was born exactly six months later, on the third day of Nissan (April 8th).

The name “Jory” is inspired by the Hebrew word “yoreh,” the autumn rains that fall in the land of Israel in the autumn month of Heshvan. This rain literally “quenches the thirst” of the parched summer ground, signaling Divine favor and heralding a new season of rebirth.

On the Hebrew calendar, certain months can have either 29 or 30 days; when a month has only 29 days it is referred to as “chaser,” which means “deficient” or “something is missing,” and when it has 30 days it is called “maleh” which means “full.” This year, the month of Heshvan had 29 days, and it was indeed a month of loss for our family. The month of Nissan, however, always has 30 days.

And so, we have named her Jory with the prayer that her birth will, like the yoreh rain, bring with it a new season of blessing and wholeness for our family.

Unfortunately, the word “yoreh” doesn’t work as her Hebrew name – not only is it masculine, it also has a double-meaning as “sharpshooter” or “sniper” or something to that effect. And so, we are giving her a Hebrew name from the same verb-root, Revayah, which means “overflows” (as in Psalm 23, “my cup runneth over”).

Jory’s first middle name, Hazel, is in memory of Saul’s father’s mother, Helen Kaiserman, with whom Jory shares her birthday. Her second middle name is in memory of Liz’s maternal grandmother, Ida Reich, whose Hebrew name was Chaya.

Jory will be blessed (and her mommy will read Torah) at Central Synagogue on the evening of Friday, April 25. The service begins at 6:00. If any of you are in town and can attend, we will be delighted to introduce Jory to you at the Oneg Shabbat following services.

Photos from the First Jory Naming

2008-04-18T18:53:00.010-04:00

This photo is of the 5 grandparents. From left to right: Marti and Jeffrey (Liz's mom and step-dad), Digna (Liz's step-mom) and Carl and Judy (Saul's parents).

Here is Uncle Mark
(Saul's brother) reading Jory's
name for the first time.

Mark, Saul, Liz, Jory, Liz's brother and sister-in-law
Jonathan and Ginny and Liz's nephew Judah.

The Kaiserfolk all together
after the naming.

Renovations Week 5

2008-03-28T15:16:00.003-04:00

So this week concludes week 5 of our renovations. Although things are moving only slightly behind schedule Team Liz has officially grown weary of living in a construction site. That being said we know that the end is in sight and so we move forward. Some highlights from this week include the installation of the granite counter tops and kitchen sink! We must wait until next week to get the back-splash installed and then the kitchen will be completed minus a light fixture. We have had some book shelves installed in the bedroom and office - thanks to Liz's mom Marti for donating them to the cause. The towel hooks and shelf in the shower were also installed this week. We also spent most of last weekend putting our closets in order and making large piles of give away stuff in the hopes of creating just a little more room in the apartment. Not so many good pictures from this week so we settle for a photo of the new shelves almost installed in the office.

Dinner with our Cousins

2008-03-22T14:42:00.000-04:00

Team Liz spent Saturday evening with Liz's cousins Robert and Tukta. We enjoyed fabulous Thai food, good conversation and we even experienced Wii for the first time. It is a real treat to live so close to Liz's cousins - they live just a couple blocks away from us. Here's a fun photo of Robert and his sons playing Wii.

Purim in New Jersey

2008-03-21T14:32:00.002-04:00

In a truly unusual moment in time, Team Liz did not have any work related obligations for Purim, so we hopped on NJ Transit and enjoyed Temple Emanu-El of Livingston NJ's Purim Schpiel (written, directed and produced by Mark Kaiserman). For those of you who don't know, Mark writes and stages a schpiel every year. This is the very first time that Team Liz has been able to enjoy Mark's talents and oh what an evening it was!

Renovations Week 4

2008-03-21T13:47:00.010-04:00

Week 4 of the renovations are complete. Amazingly enough most of the big stuff is completed. We have a fully functional bathroom - all we are waiting for is our towel hooks to be installed. The kitchen is also pretty darn close to being completed with our appliances being delivered this week. We had a fun 24 hours after the refrigerator that was initially delivered was found to have a 4 inch wide and 1 inch deep gauge in it (photo below). Thankfully, in the end, everything worked out and we got a brand new refrigerator but it was a bit tense for awhile there.

On Thursday our granite guy came to take a template of the kitchen. This is good since we will not have a kitchen sink until he installs the granite - we are hoping that will happen within about 10 days. Oh yeah, on a not totally renovation related note - our OB told us that the baby was in position and might decide to join this world a bit earlier than our due date! So now we are off and running trying to organize our home so that if the baby decides to come early we have some place to put the kid!

36 Weeks and counting

2008-03-19T18:17:00.004-04:00

Liz has arrived at 36 weeks pregnant. Her circumference is 41" - this is shocking to some of us! Here is a 90 second video of the final ultrasound that the Doctor took. Baby is looking good with it's head down and ready to go!

Renovations Week 3

2008-03-15T18:40:00.006-04:00

Well this was a big week - things moved forward fast and furious. Team Liz even spent some nights sleeping elsewhere due to a lack of toilet, shower and sink! Here are some of the noteworthy accomplishments from this past week. Beginning and finishing the laying of the kitchen floor (as seen on left). On Wednesday the tiles were removed around the hardware in the shower necessitating Team Liz's departure from the apartment (as seen on right). By Thursday the toilet and sink were gone and the plumber had been and gone and changed the internal fixture for the shower.

Thursday also saw the arrival of the carpenters who installed our kitchen cabinets. I will admit that I nearly cried when I walked into our kitchen on Thursday afternoon to see the new cabinets installed and to know that our goal of a new kitchen was within reach. Finally between Friday and Saturday the bathroom was regrouted. Whew - what a week!

Shabbat Dinner in Brooklyn

2008-03-08T18:05:00.005-05:00

Team Liz loves every opportunity to see our friends in Brooklyn, so we hopped on the IRT and spent a wonderful Shabbat evening at Dave and Kristi's house. We even decided to make a mini-vacation out of our time in Brooklyn. We stayed overnight and then spent much of Saturday playing in the 'hood. Here are a couple pictures from Friday night.

Amy and Rob enjoying a quiet moment together - it was raining out and Rob got quite wet trying to get to Dave and Kristi's.

This is what happens to a dinner party when Bob the Builder gets turned on!

Team Liz has Registered...Sort of

2008-03-08T15:37:00.003-05:00

While Team Liz remains superstitious and prefers not to get too involved with pre-baby being born gift giving, we have in fact put a couple things on a registry. Our neighborhood baby store called Albee's has an old fashioned registry. What this means is that you can not point and click on the internet but you will have to call them on the telephone and ask them to tell you what is on our registry in order to place an order.

We have asked that nothing be delivered until after the baby is born, both because of our superstitious nature and because we have no room for anything in this apartment until the renovations have been completed!

If you would like to "browse" our starter registry you can reach Albee's at: 877-692-5233 or click here to see their website.

Renovations Week 2

2008-03-08T15:24:00.006-05:00

So week two of Team Liz's renovations has been completed. Week two was a little less exciting than week 1 where there were major changes but no less important in the scope of completing this project on time. Things accomplished this week included the completion of all the electrical in the bathroom, the creation of a bigger space for a new medicine cabinet, the patching of the wholes in the closet and the prepping, sanding and priming of the kitchen and both closets and finally on Friday the pre-flooring was put down in the kitchen in preparation for installing the stone floor during week 3. Here are a couple photos from last week.
The picture on the left is of our brand new outlet in the bathroom - this is exciting because up until now we have a dinky outlet attached to the light which was not terribly convenient.
The other picture is of the prepped floor in the kitchen as well as the primed walls ready to be painted.

Finally, I write this because once something is written on the internet it must be true - the contractor still believes we will be completed in a total of 4 weeks (2 more weeks). So we ask all of you to cross your fingers or send your good vibes out into the universe that this schedule is held to.

Team Liz Prepares for Week 2

2008-03-01T19:07:00.005-05:00

Well, as many of you know renovations are completed by the sweat of those you hire as well as by the work you need to put in during the off hours to prepare your home for the next wave of destruction! Today Saul spent part of his hard earned day-off doing manual labor in order to prepare the apartment for this next week's renovations. Saul emptied our other hall closet, reorganized the living room storage area (which now is housing all the stuff from the hall closet) as well as took some items to goodwill. Here are two views of our hallway - one earlier in the week with all the boxes and one now with no boxes.

And this third picture is a view of the inside of the hall closet that Saul emptied - including some nice holes in the wall from the electrical work in the kitchen.

Renovations End of Week 1

2008-02-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

Today was the final day of renovations for this week. All in all a very productive week. Today they prepped the closet to be painted next week. The electrician finished most of his work in the kitchen - including adding some circuits so that we can operate our new appliances safely. Oh yeah, we had our dining room table taken out to be refinished and now we have one fewer pieces of furniture that need to be moved around during the next couple weeks.

Renovations Day 4

2008-02-28T18:42:00.006-05:00

The electrician came today and began to update the kitchen electric. When all is said and done we will have a switch at both doorways of our kitchen to turn the overhead light on and off, yeah! They also tore out the inside shelving of the entry hall closet. As renovations proceed the living room grows in its storage capacity.

Renovations Day 3

2008-02-27T18:36:00.005-05:00

The scope of work has expanded to include the bathroom. The built in soap dish and toothbrush holder were removed as was the built in hamper.

They began to dig the channels in the walls of the kitchen today in preparation for the electrician to come tomorrow. You can see them over the door frame in the photo on the right.

Renovations Day 2

2008-02-26T18:20:00.003-05:00

The kitchen gutting proceeded today - including decisions about where electrical outlets will go and the removal of the rest of the cabinets and the flooring. We also had our new cabinets delivered - they are stacked in our dining room.

Day 1 of Renovations

2008-02-25T17:46:00.006-05:00

So here are a couple photos from day one of our renovations. Overall goal of these renovations will be an entirely new kitchen, an updated bathroom, and three new closet interiors as well as closet doors. Our contractor is starting with the big project - the kitchen.

The photos include two views of the kitchen - one with the oven and dishwasher still in but the upper cabinets removed, the other side of the kitchen which has had all the cabinets removed and finally our dining room which now holds our refrigerator.

Liz at 33 weeks

2008-02-23T18:16:00.000-05:00

So Team Liz has not been so diligent with tracking the belly growth we did finally take a couple pictures of Liz's ever growing mid-section. Here is one from her 33rd week. Can her belly really get any bigger?

The Final Meal from the Old Kitchen

2008-02-22T21:19:00.001-05:00

So last Friday night Team Liz hosted the final meal to be made in the old kitchen. Saul cooked up a storm and made a delicious Mexican feast. Take a glimpse at the last view of our kitchen and then visit the blog over the next couple weeks to see the progress and changes.

Teamliz Records a Heartbeat

2008-02-21T22:50:00.006-05:00

So Liz is 33 weeks pregnant as of today. Although Team Liz has had a hard time posting regular updates of the growth of the belly, yesterday while at the doctor, Liz captured a short video of the doctor listening to the baby's heartbeat (clocking in between 142 and 145).

The view that you are seeing is the top of Liz's belly - she was lying on her back taking the video from above her belly. You will only see the doctor's hand and the small device that captures the sound of the heartbeat. Enjoy!

Dinner with the Brother's of Team Liz

2008-02-18T23:12:00.002-05:00

Team Liz had the rare treat of sharing dinner with both our brothers and Liz's mom Marti. Liz's brother Jonathan was in from Lake Tahoe and Saul's brother Mark took the train in from the wild's of New Jersey. It was a fun evening of joke telling and good food.

Team Liz supports the Israeli Philharmonic

2008-02-06T23:31:00.001-05:00

Team Liz joined a number of Saul's colleagues in attending this year's American Friend's of the Israeli Philharmonic benefit in memory of Leonard Bernstein. We got all dressed up and spent a fun evening at the Waldorf Astoria. The left photo is Saul doing "jazz hands" with a top hat and white gloves.

Shabbat Dinner with Friends

2008-02-01T23:20:00.001-05:00

After many months of planning Team Liz finally made it up to Larchmont to share Shabbat dinner with some old friends and some new ones. We were hosted by Liz's classmate Ilene, her husband Nick and their two children. Joining us were old friends of Saul, Jennifer and David and their two sons. Also included in the evening were two more of Liz's classmates Jonathan and Melanie. It was a really enjoyable evening that included good food and some sing along guitar playing. Here are a couple photos from the evening. Enjoy!

Saul and Jonathan on guitar. David, Jennifer and their younger son Nathan.

Sister Dinner Time

2008-01-28T19:19:00.000-05:00

So after two and half years of waiting, Liz and her sister Tanya are finally living in the same city and attending school (rabbinic and NYU undergraduate, respectively) next door to each other.
So here is a photo of the first sister dinner on a school night! Yeah!

Rabbi Jonathan & Tahoe Moments

2008-01-25T08:25:00.001-05:00

Team Liz wants to share a link with all of you. Liz's brother Jonathan is a Rabbi in Lake Tahoe and recently a photographer put together three brief slide shows and interviews with different people who live in Tahoe and are spiritually involved. Liz's brother was the Jewish person interviewed, they also interviewed a Catholic and a Pagan.

It is such a wonderful piece please take the 2 minutes to check-it out. Click HERE.

Teamliz Visits Florida

2008-01-20T19:28:00.000-05:00

Well, the Kaiserfolks moved to Florida in February 2005 and Teamliz finally made it to Florida for a short getaway over the MLK Jr. holiday weekend. We had a terrific time visiting the house that Judy and Carl are living in temporarily and the amazing new house that they designed and are building from the ground up. Here are some fun photos from our trip. To the right is a panoramic photo that Carl took of Judy taking a picture of Saul talking to Liz's belly and the house construction behind us.

Carl, Saul and Judy.
If you want to see more photos from our visit, click here.

Christmas in NC

2007-12-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

For the second year in a row Team Liz celebrated Christmas in North Carolina. We ate copious amounts of food at the traditional Christmas Eve dinner and then on Christmas morning we opened all of our presents. Team Liz could always find there presents under the tree because they are all wrapped with Stars of David or menorahs!

The above photo includes Paul (Liz's step-brother), Carrie (Paul's wife),
Danny (Liz's step-brother), Tanya (Liz's sister),
Liz and Saul, in front of the Christmas Tree.

And below is Tanya and all of her presents on Christmas morning.

Team Liz Celebrates a Birthday

2007-12-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

Team Liz celebrated Liz's birthday in North Carolina on December 23rd. We did some last minute shopping at the mall, saw a movie and then ate dinner at home and even had a tasty chocolate cake!

Liz and her little sister Tanya after the movies.

Saul in San Diego

2007-12-12T23:03:00.000-05:00

Saul went out to San Diego to participate in the Union of Reform Judaism's Biennial conference. While there he and his brother Mark took an "insiders" tour of the San Diego Zoo. Here is a photo of Saul from the zoo during his most recent trip as well as a comparison shot from his first trip to the zoo in 1969.

Team Liz is Pregnant

2007-11-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have not heard - Liz is pregnant. Naturally Team Liz is very excited to welcome into the world a new member of this team. God willing we expect an arrival date sometime in the middle of April.

Here is a picture of Liz about 20 weeks pregnant.

Saul's Latest Article

2007-11-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

Saul has been hard at work writing articles about Jewish education that are appearing in publications throughout the Jewish world.

Check-out his latest article in the CAJE newsletter.

Jeff Freirich Obituaries

2007-10-19T14:39:00.000-04:00

As many of you know Liz's father recently passed away (October 14, 2007). We wanted to make the obituaries that appeared in the Salisbury Post, Jeff's home paper, and the one from the NY Times available for you to read. Just click on either link below.

Salisbury Post

NY Times

Also, please find below the eulogy that Liz wrote. Some of you may have heard this either at the funeral or at one of the shiva minyanim at our house but we thought we would share this as well.

Although Dad was not a profoundly religious man he was connected to Judaism in his own way. Over the last two years I enjoyed the couple of times that Dad and I went to Temple Israel together. It meant a lot to me to have this time to sit in synagogue and reflect and to pray next to my father.

In the Jewish tradition we read a different section of the Bible each week. This week we are reading from Genesis chapter 12. Many of you will know this story as it is the first time that God speaks to Abraham.

The first two verses of the chapter go roughly as follows:

The Lord said to Avram “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you shall be a blessing…”

Although I am quite certain that Dad never heard the voice of God or at least he never told us if he did, I was struck by the parallels between God’s command to Abraham and some aspects of Dad’s life.

God tells Abraham to leave his native land and his father’s house and go to a foreign land. Well, 22 years ago Dad helped expand Freirich Foods, Inc. by going to a distant land. He left his native home of New York and started a new life in a far-off place called North Carolina. Just as Abraham’s family grew to become a great nation in his new home so too did Dad’s family also expand in Salisbury. The number of Dad’s offspring grew from 2 to 5.

God then promises to make Abraham’s name great. Now, Dad was most definitely the master of his own destiny. He made very clear decisions and was almost never unsure of the right thing to do. Whether Dad’s clear vision for what was right and wrong was divinely inspired or simply genetically encoded we will never know but I believe that Dad’s capacity to judge right and wrong, to honor people for who they are, his business ethics and for his deep and unending commitment to family, Dad ensured the greatness of his name.

And finally God promises that Abraham will be for a blessing - for those of us who love Dad and hold him near to us he will always be for a blessing.

Hazon Ride

2007-09-03T14:23:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend Team Liz got on their bikes and participated in a two day ride from Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, CT. to Manhattan to raise money for Hazon, an organization that raises money for environmental issues with a Jewish twist. Some of you might remember that Saul participated in Hazon's Israel ride this past May.

One of the best parts of the weekend was the fact that Team Liz got to ride together with Mark (Saul's brother). Here is a photo of the three of us at the beginning of the second day of the ride.

Cyclones Game

2007-08-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

Team Liz joined 40 of our closest friends (and a stadium filled with some other folks who we didn't know quite as well) to cheer on the Brooklyn Cyclones (baseball) at their stadium on Coney Island.
It was a truly beautiful evening and the game was fun too!

Saul and his brother Mark.

Nothings better than getting a
Marty Markowitz bobble-head doll!

Sim, Mary Ellen, Trak and Jess enjoy the evening breeze at the stadium.

Getting to Know Judah

2007-08-04T15:18:00.000-04:00

After a week at the NC shore Liz's brother and sister-in-law, Jonathan and Ginny, came up to NYC with their son Judah to spend some time with the other side of the family.

Here is a photo of Team Liz with Jonathan, Ginny and Judah on Great Grandma Jewel's terrace.

Week at the Beach

2007-08-01T11:41:00.000-04:00

Team Liz joined the Freirich family at the Outer Banks in NC for a fun week of sun, beach, good food and Jeff's (Liz's Dad) 61st Birthday.

From left to right in this photo: Jonathan, Paul, Lizzie, Jeff, Digna, Tanya and Danny.

Pictures above: Uncle Roy, Aunt Deb who is holding Liz's nephew Judah, Judah's mom Ginny and Liz's step-mom Digna.

Jeff celebrates his 61st birthday with almost the whole family.

To see more pictures from the week at the beach click here.

New Job for Saul

2007-07-11T15:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Saul started his new job as Director of Life Long Learning at Congregation Emanu-El in Manhattan.

Check-out what Congregation Emanu-El is like by looking at their website.

July 4th

2007-07-07T19:22:00.000-04:00

Team Liz wasted no time in NYC before heading to North Carolina. Here are some photos from our quick visit over July 4th weekend. Above are Liz's step-mom, dad and sister (Digna, Jeff and Tanya).

Saul takes a moment to show off one of his new ties and shirts during dinner at Liz's dad and step-mom's house.

Nothing says "dinner time" like Liz's step-brother Paul slicing up the steaks.

Getting Together with Friends

2007-07-02T19:02:00.000-04:00

Team Liz arrived back in America on Sunday, July 1st. We gathered with some of our Brooklyn crew for a welcome home dinner on Monday night.

Here are Dave, Ben and Saul hanging out in the park.

A little pre-dinner entertainment - pushing Ben on a swing in the park.

Dave, Sim, Jess and Saul try to hear the high pitched sound coming out of the computer - if you can hear it you are younger than the rest of us!