Post Visitors ... back to normal, I guess?

Scott and Alicia left last Saturday morning, and as soon as they left I started a very busy weekend I'd like to write about... First, I waved Scott and Alicia off at the bus station, along with Brian and Sammie, then I went to the Hampstead Womens Club Nearly New Sale. This is an annual event where the posh women of Hampstead have a great big sale for all their childrens' clothes and toys. I went last year and got soooo much good stuff for Sam, and I wasn't about to miss out this year. Behold my DEALS...

As predicted, I came home with a boat load of goodies... several pairs of pjs (Samantha is modelling a pair in her bed right now, I just snuck the above picture. hee hee.), some cute jeans and sweaters, a couple nice summer dresses, lots of socks and t-shirts, all of which are designer brands in great condition for just a few pounds apiece. Sammie was most happy with the TOYS and BOOKS I got for her... several new hard cardboard books with flaps and things, a few puzzles, and a couple lights-and-buttons telephones that she just LOVES (have I already mentioned her phone addiction? we think it's cute and hereditary).

Immediately after the sale, I rushed home to prepare for a Primary Activity Day at our house that afternoon. My good friend and primary counselor, Jenny, came and helped clean the house and set up the activities, while Brian went running errands and getting the food for us. It turned out to be such a fun activity! We have 12 children who regularly come to church, and 11 of them came to our party. We cut and pasted our "favorite things" onto a worksheet, then did poster paintings of ourselves and played a little guessing game with the pictures. We also decorated mini pizzas to look like faces, and topped everything off with ice cream bars. I was so pleased with how it all turned out... No one got hurt, nothing got broken, and no one was crying when they left. I call that a success! Below are a couple cute pictures of the kids acting crazy, showing off some of their artwork. (I told them to put on a crazy face, and they did!)


After the party, I planned a lesson for church the next day, while poor Brian slept. He got the cold the rest of us had earlier in the week, and it really knocked him out for Saturday night and Sunday. Anyway, I was especially pleased with how my lesson went at church, and consequently had a very nice Sunday (it's sad, I know, but somehow the quality of my Sundays is very dependent on how the children behave during my lessons at church... patience is a virtue, I remind myself.)

Samantha has some sort of big news that's kind of funny. We have used a bath chair for Samantha (pictured below) for the past several months. They are supposed to support babies who are just sitting and perhaps crawling. Well, we've used it to CONTAIN our extremely active tub-lovin' baby. But not any more!! It's time to say goodbye to the bath chair (which she was starting to get stuck in, anyway). While Brielle was here, Sam was chairless, and it worked out fine, except that she is absolutely WILD with excitement at her new-found freedom in the tub! It's seriously like a three-ring circus at bathtime now. I mentioned her fear of bathing after our Egypt trip. Well, she's over that now, and can hardly WAIT to climb in. I took a few pictures of her last night because it was such a performance. Laying on her tummy is a new favorite position. Hilarious and wet!!
Sam's also been entertaining herself in her crib by pulling out as many clothes as she can reach out of the dresser (next to the crib). I've probably written about this before, but I finally got a cute picture of her with the contents of her pants drawer beside her.

One more news item for Sam, no picture included... While Scott and Alicia were here, we discovered that Samantha had cut four molars, unbeknownst to me! Alicia was talking about Brie's molars and asking how many teeth Sammie had. I had only counted seven, up front. We check for the molars and low-and-behold they were all four in! Who knows how that happened so fast? But it's great, she can handle all kinds of foods now, and eats like a champ!!

So, I still want to write and add more picts about our time with Scott and Alicia... don't get confused if a new post pops up out of chronological order, kay?

Two Cuties

Well, Scott and Alicia have gone back to Germany to finish their vacation before heading home next weekend. We had sooooo much fun and really enjoyed being with them. I want to write all the fun details of our time. But first, I want to share pictures of our two cute girls, Samantha and Brielle.


It was so much fun to see the girls together. I wouldn't say they've really made the connection they're supposed to be "best friends" just like their moms... at least not yet. But they did interact enough to keep us entertained. We got some great shots of the two of them together. Above, they're enjoying a bench together on their last day out.


Below, eating out: Sam stays in her chair, Brielle prefers to sit on her dad or mom's lap. Sam likes to eat lots of carbs but little meat, Brielle likes to stir things into her water cup. I think they both learned some of each other's tricks.

On the Brig 'o doon: Brie posed for several cute solo shots, and then we decided to try to get one of both girls together... imagine us snapping several photos as Sam ran by on her way across the bridge and back again.
Tub time. Their last bath together, Samantha got dismissed from the tub early because she was just too wild for Brielle and was splashing too much water on the floor. Just too much excitement to bathe with her friend.
Shopping together. Okay so they weren't exactly thrilled to be in the shopping cart on the same little bench, even though Alicia and I thought it was just "perfect" that there were two little seats for them. Brie ended up standing in the back and Sam kept turning around to talk to her.

Next three photos is one of our favorite entertaining sequences:

Photo 1: Sam gets excited to see Brie and goes to give her a hug.
Photo 2: Brielle doesn't want a hug from Sam.
Photo 3: Sam on the ground. Hug unsuccessful.
Making Music: they actually played together on the piano quite nicely... not that it sounded nice, but that they were nice to each other.
Toy time: Hard to share the cool toys. Samantha does look like quite the bully in this one, eh? Poor Brie. But I have to say they both stood up for their rights quite well.

That's all for now, folks.

Visitors!

Hello! It's hard to get in some good blog time when we're so busy enjoying ourselves around here. We've had Scott and Alicia and their baby Brielle here this week, and it's been so much fun! I hope to be able to put up some pictures and write about what we've been up to, but not right now, because we're on our way out the door again in just a few minutes. So, for now, just a few quick pictures I'm stealing from Scott and Alicia's camera...

The girls on the beach in Stevenston (where Scott's dad is from).

The Brig 'o doon, a lovely bridge from the 13th century, famous in Robert Burns' poetry.

Our lovely Marriott country club hotel in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle... we took a tour. Very lovely!
More to come later.... Stay tuned.

Murphy's law in the kitchen

How is it that every time I wash and clean the kitchen floor, I end up dropping something on it within the hour? Seriously, it happens to me all the time. Last night, it was a pile of newly boiled rice, sticking in clumps all over the floor. Last week, it was a new bottle of ketchup that fell out of the fridge and exploded. (That has actually happened TWICE in the last couple months, believe it or not!). The week before last, I had just mopped the floor when I accidentally exploded a blender full of soup that I was trying to puree. Man! Murphy's Law in the kitchen... I just do not like it.

On a better note, I found a GREAT brownie recipe last night that came out perrrfect. They're already gone. :)

On an even better note, Brian is home. Yay! The nasty stretch is over and we finally get to enjoy a little down time (and sleep for Brian). Looking forward to meeting Scott and Alicia in Scotland for the weekend. Life is good.

cheerio for now!

Looking on the bright side

So, with my lonely nights of late, I've not only had time to gripe about how much I miss Brian and how hard this is; I've also been able to think about how good we have it and how much my little family means to me. Each night before I go to bed (yes, it's still after midnight every night, I'm ashamed to say), I sneak into Samantha's room to watch her sleep for a few minutes. I cover her up and just look at her cute little face, wishing the crib weren't sooo high, so I could kiss her little cheeks. Then I go back to my room and call Brian before going to bed. He sounds exhausted, but always kind and attentive, rarely grumpy or negative even on less sleep per week than I get per night! I wish him a good night, and wish he could be home with me, then say goodbye to him. As I say my prayers before turning out the light, I feel frustrated at first, but then grateful. Very, very grateful.

This may not be the ideal job or the ideal location for us longterm. It definitely has its downside and its rough spots. But it's not all bad. I mean, the pay is great, for one thing. And for now it's what we've got, and it's helping us reach some goals we've set for our future. It's true, I moan and complain about how it's so hard to see Brian work so much and be so tired and miss being home with me and Sam. I don't like being home alone so much, and I don't like seeing how taxing this schedule is to my poor husband! But I also feel very grateful for so many things...

• It's so nice to be able to stay home and be a full-time mom. I love seeing all the little things Samantha is learning and doing. I love how much she loves me and Brian. My mom called her my "little friend" the other day. I like that, because she really is such a fun little person and we are good friends, most of the time (just before nap time, or if I decide to get out the vacuum, we sometimes have to reevaluate our friendship).
• I love how Brian is so good at balancing his priorities and his time; even when the hours are unbearable and we don't see each other very much, I always know Samantha and I are at the top of his list of "most important" things. He does those little things that mean so much... a call when there's two minutes of down time; always a hug and kiss and a prayer in the mornings; and the other night, he even brought home two dark chocolate truffles he saved from his dinner and they were FABULOUS!
• I love our new home. It is so comfy and relaxing. I'm so grateful to have our parking spot right in front of the house, the few stairs we have out front (instead of the bazillion at our old place) and our big back yard with plants and a patio and a little barbeque grill that we've yet to use.
• I'm very grateful for a close group of friends here, who listen and understand and cheer me up with little escapes and escapades when the going is tough. It's so nice to be able to WALK to many of my friends' houses! How very convenient.
• I'm also so glad to be reasonably healthy and fit. I know that's cliche, but it's something I soooo very appreciate and hope I don't take for granted. I'm not saying I couldn't stand to lose that last bit of preggo fat, but I'm feelin' pretty good and satisfied right now, which is a nice way to feel.
• What else, what else? Oh yes, this is a BIG, BIG one... I'm very, very thankful for the phone! On my mission, I earned the nickname Sister Phone. I'll keep it, even though it doesn't rhyme with Bishop. :) We have an internet phone connection that allows me to call the US for free as often as I want. It's sooo nice to talk to my family and friends, most especially my mom. What would I do without the moral telephone support I get?? What a blessing of technology!

I'll stop there, but not for lack of more to say. Actually, I better get busy cleaning my house that I love so much... we have house guests on Friday, and we're going to meet Alicia and Scott and Brielle in Scotland on Saturday. Mucho worko to do-o.

Ciao for now!

Hard week over

Last week was not my favorite week, and I'm glad it's over and we're on to a new one. Brian had an extremely unbearable work schedule all week, with midnight being his EARLIEST night in. Finally on Friday, I called to tell him I failed my driving test again (third time was NOT the charm, despite the fasting and prayer and practicing). While we were on the phone, he shared one of those "now-is-probably-not-the-best-time-to-tell-you" things, telling me he would probably be working most of the weekend as well. He DID work most of the weekend, leaving Saturday morning and not returning to the house till midafternoon Sunday. Rough stuff.

Unfortunately, my lack of discipline when he's working late causes me to stay up till 2 or 3 just hoping he'll come in, making me grumpy all day for having stayed up so late. It's not like anything really terrible is happening in my life, but I feel like murmuring just because I'm sleepy and I miss my husband. I woke up this morning vowing to turn over a new leaf... already did some laundry and housework, and walked down to Subway to get a turkey/ham sub-of-the-day for lunch. Let's hope things look up from here!!

Cute stuff about Sammie

I mentioned that our camera broke on our second to last day in Egypt. That means any blogging I do in the near future will be text only. No more pictures, sorry. I'm afraid I'm out of practice at making my writing entertaining enough to be read without pictures. So what you'll read here will sound more like a journal entry of sorts.

I have cute things to share about Samantha. She's started her own gibberish language that is absolutely adorable. Just this week, it seems like she figured out her mouth will make weird sounds if she moves her tongue around different ways. So she goes jabbering away, sticking that little tongue out and moving it around. Most of what she says sounds kind of like "gliglug gully glglly" Lots of hard "g" sounds. I love it!

She also started saying "ah oh!" when she drops something. In fact, she intentionally drops things so she can say "ah oh, ah oh, ah oh!" over and over. I'm almost inclined to count it as her first official word, since she uses it to mean the same thing every time. It's true, she's been saying "dadng" for a few months now, but it's hard to attach a real meaning to it, as she says it all the time, about everything. So, maybe we should count "ah oh?"

Samantha has developed a new love of trying on clothes. For months she's been bringing me her sweaters and coats when she wants to go outside. But now she just gets on with it on her own. And she doesn't stop at jackets -- she loves trying to get on pants, hats, socks, etc. She got one of my shirts out of the washer today and came running through the living room with it around her waist, like a skirt. Cute.

Her latest greatest in that department is that she knows how to reach into her pants drawer while standing in her crib. (Her dresser is right next to the crib.) So, after her afternoon nap, she empties half her pants into the crib and starts trying them on. Last week I heard her making lots of noise in there and went to get her up. When I walked in, she was standing with her back to me, a pair of denim shorts on her head. She turned around and I could see two little eyes peeking nervously through the leg holes, wondering if she was going to get in trouble. I started laughing, and she pulled them off proudly, giggling with me while she waved them around in the air. Man I wish our camera was working for that one.

Samantha's also getting really good at lids... pen lids, tupperware lids, water bottle lids, etc. She can open most lids fairly easily. At a play group last week she opened a brand new water bottle she found in our friend's kitchen and went around sipping while the other kids were looking at her like, "where'd ya get that?" I was a bit embarrassed at her help-yourself attitude, and surprised that she got it open. Those six teeth of hers work wonders! She also opened a red ink pen yesterday and drew pretty pictures all over the cover of our Home Health Guide. Then this morning, she opened a tube of my waterproof mascara. Brian quickly closed it back tightly and handed it back to her -- both of us thought I must have left it open or something. Well, thirty seconds later, she had it open again, and had painted a nice black strip of mascara down the front of her hair, as well as smearing it all over both hands and a nice spot on the kitchen floor. Pretty Sammie!

She had to have a bath after that episode. Anyone out there have toddlers develop a fear of baths, after they've LOVED bathing in the past? Sam's always really enjoyed the water. But this past week she really freaks out when it's time to get in the tub. I'm not sure if it's something that happened (suds in the eyes, too hot of water or something?) or if it's just a phase. She was a wiggly, screaming girl this morning and really didn't calm down until I gave her a pacifier. How weird.

It could have to do with Brian scaring her with the garden hose last weekend, I suppose. He was planting veggies and she was playing on the patio. He said he turned on the hose and she got a little worried, so he thought he'd show her it's only water. He started waving the stream toward her, and she began to cry. So he wave it a little closer, so she could see it was nothing to hurt her. She really freaked out then, and ended up huddled in the corner, crying. Guess waving the hose at her was not the right idea?? And that was after she had huddled in the corner crying while he mowed the grass. She's a little scared of the back yard now, I wonder why?

Right now, she's tucked away, fast asleep for the night. She still sleeps wonderfully from 8 to 8, which is such a blessing -- for her and for us! We sure love this little girl so much. That's all for now, folks.

Artsy Egypt

This is the last post on Egypt, I think. I know it's nice to see pictures with people in them, which is why most of what I posted had us in the photos. But it's also nice to take some artsy pictures of cool places, so this shows some of the beautiful, amazing places we saw while we were there.

More from Egypt

I know I'm probably scaring people away by adding so much from our trip to Egypt. But it was just such a fun trip, and I want to be able to remember it. I mean, I guess this is sort of my version of scrapbooking, eh? So, on with the remaining picts from our trip...

SABBATH DAY IN CAIRO
In the Arab world, the Sabbath day is actually on Friday, and the weekend is Friday and Saturday. Yes, even members of our church have Sabbath on Friday. So, we got to go to the unofficial Cairo branch of the church on Friday morning. It was great! They were doing Seminary graduation for the youth, so all the speakers were the graduates. Then, they had their annual branch photo, which they invited us to join. We stayed for all the meetings, and chatted with members after. Most are expats from the US, just in Cairo for a few years. Brian only knew two people from his time there seven years ago -- high turnover rate, it seems.

We got our traditional photo in front of the building. Brian loves to take pictures of our church's meeting houses around the world. This one is a large villa, transformed into a very nice chapel with classrooms and other meeting rooms. I was surprised to see a bathtub in the women's bathroom, until Brian explained how they converted it from the villa several years ago.
After, we walked over to where Brian used to live, just a few blocks from the church. It was really nice and well kept. There were some old men in front shining shoes... 10 - 12 pair lined up on the ground waiting to be shined. They wanted to shine Blaine's, but he declined.
FINAL DAYS IN CAIRO

The next day we went to the Egyptian Museum, a fascinating, memorable experience. Below, we're sitting in the courtyard in front of the museum. It's a gorgeous building, but a little tired inside. They have over 120,000 artifacts inside -- mummies, coffins, death maskes, vases, cases, chairs, beds, necklaces, bracelets, and on and on. Most of the pieces are just sitting around large rooms, many completely unmarked. If they are marked, it's only by old typewritten sheets of paper in wood frames, not matching and hardly readable. We kept commenting on how the Egyptians would do good to partner with a world class museum, like the NY Met or something, to properly display their amazing works! No photos inside the museum. But I borrowed this one below, from the museum's web site, because it was by far the most amazing piece we saw -- Tutankhamun's (King Tut's) death mask, made of solid gold, weighing about 22 pounds! It was quite a remarkable piece to see, much more arresting in person than in a photo. The room where they keep it also contains the sarcophagus where he was laid, brightly painted and preserved in so many gorgeous colors.

After the museum, we went up on the hill to the Citadel, a fortress that dates from the 12 or 13th century. Inside is the gorgeous Mohammed Ali mosque, which we didn't get to tour because it was already closed. But we got some great views of the city. And walking down from the Citadel, we passed a place called the City of the Dead (pictured below). It's where the people are so poor they actually live in the ruins on top of the tombs of their dead. It was very sad to see the absolute poverty of the people.
We spent some time that evening relaxing in a gorgeous park near the Citadel, overlooking the city. Parks are hard to come by in Cairo, Brian says. So wherever there's a nice park, it's bound to be mobbed by people. This one was no exception, with the grass looking rather mauled. There were lots of families and young couples... all of them loved watching Samantha.
And Samantha LOVED wandering around, even though she kept falling over because the hill was too steep. She didn't mind a bit!
We went back to the main market of Cairo that night, and Brian took us through the section where they sell spices... cumin, pepper, paprika, fennel, coriander, sesame, garlic, parsley, tamarind, etc... all sitting in huge barrels. They had black pepper corns, as well as green ones, red ones, and mixed. Blaine bought a big bag for just over a dollar. We couldn't stay too long, because the aromas are too strong. Lisa and I were coughing and sneezing like crazy after just a few minutes. But it was really fascinating to see. I didn't even have to pay to take this picture (a first, it seemed!)

That night we got to see a performance of the Whirling Dervishes. They're more famous in Turkey, I think. But they do a free performance every week in Cairo for tourists. It was great! It's basically a bunch of guys in long robes with skirts tied over the top. They spin around and around in circles and dance around the stage to loud Arab music on drums, horns and tamberines. One of them spun for 22 minutes straight in a counter-clockwise circle, and then stopped on a dime without even looking dizzy! Sadly, our camera broke that night. So we only got a couple pictures, before they started spinning. Oh well.
And that brings us to the end of our trip. The last day we saw more pyramids, which were amazing. Samantha saw yet another camel and cried her eyes out the whole time we looked at the pyramids nearby. That evening we went for a cruise on the Nile in a felucca boat. It was really nice and peaceful, and Sam loved dancing in the middle of the boat.

We went back to our hotel for a few hours that night and then packed up and headed to the airport for a 3a.m. flight (ugg). We had a layover in Amsterdam with just enough time to take the train into the city for a bite to eat and a quick look around. We were home by early afternoon, and ready for bed shortly thereafter! What a fun time, thanks for listening. :)

Egypt, Part 2

Hey, I decided my last entry was getting too long, so I'm breaking it up a bit...

MORE OF LUXOR
Here's one more from Valley of the Kings -- Lisa and I are standing outside the tomb of Tutankhamun, owner the most elaborately decorated coffin and death mask, etc. His "goods" are now in the Egyptian Museum, so we saw them later on. Very cool.

And here's one of Samantha (below), enjoying every bit of the trapsing around, as you can imagine. If you look closely at the sign beside her, you'll see her pacifier tied to the bottom of the sign. We didn't even know she'd lost it until we were on our way out and stopped to read this sign and saw someone had hung it there after Sam threw it on the ground. (Aside: the Egypt trip was Sammie's last with her "pluggie," as Brian and I call it. Starting last night, she's going without. Let's just say today's afternoon nap was a struggle settling her!! Wish us luck as Sam says bye to her soothing friend.)
This was a common sight most days, little sleepy girl. She did very good, catching naps in her stroller or in my arms in the taxis. She also slept really well every single night, waking very happy and ready to see some more!
Our hotel in Luxor was a really nice Sheraton, right on the Nile, with two very nice swimming pools. We made sure we had time to enjoy our place, even though we were rushing to see all the ruins. Blaine sweet talked them into letting us get a late check-out our last day there, so we didn't have to leave until 9 pm!
We were surprised to see how green and lush everything was, right along the Nile. Palm trees and flowers and green grass grew everywhere. All those pictures of the ruins are out in the desert, about 20-30 mins drive away from the Nile basin. The poor people who had to build them probably had a long commute! But it was interesting to learn that it's the dryness and the sand that actually preserved things so perfectly. We saw one pyramid that was built with rock from the Nile basin, and it was in very shabby condition, because that rock wasn't solid enough.
Here's our spot at the pool. Sam loved it. Blaine and Lisa brought her some water wing floaties, which she really liked. She insisted on wearing them even in our hotel rooms at night.
A view of the Nile, in back of our hotel.
We took the night train back to Cairo, then did a quick tour of a mosque and the market before flying to Sharm el Sheikh. Here's the mosque...
Do I look authentic? I was surprised they let us take pictures in the dress, but they seemed fine with it.
SHARM EL SHEIKH

Sharm is a resort town on the Red Sea, at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. We got a steal of a deal on our rooms... only $25 per night, through a UK travel Web site. We were actually a bit doubtful whether we were being scammed, but luckily it came through perfectly. Our place was a nice 4-star, breakfast included. We spent a lot of time hanging out in our rooms, swimming at the pool, and checking out the markets. The view from our balcony...

Family swim time...
Enjoying the room...
Walking near the beach, or, at least trying to find the beach??
We wanted to ride in a glass bottom boat to see the cool coral and fish on the reef -- a less wet way to snorkel. Well, the last boat went at 3pm and we got there too late. So we rented a paddle boat with a slide on it (hard to picture, and I didn't get any great shots of it), and we paddled ourselves around in the red sea for an hour.
We each took turns sliding down the slide into the Red Sea. Lisa's picture turned out the cutest, so here she is... Brian deleted his. ahem.
Sunset on the Red Sea, from our paddle boat. It was a lot of fun, except that we didn't get to shower for hours, and had to walk around with dried salt caked on while we toured the market.
MOUNT SINAI

I think this was probably the highlight of the trip for me, just because it was such a unique experience. We hired a guide to drive us to Mt Sinai, then we hiked to the top together. We rode camels part of the way, then walked the rest of the way... up a ravine and then 750 stone steps (Blaine counted). There was a little chapel built right on the top, where we got our picture taken. It was cold on top, and very hard to believe Brian slept overnight there, the first time he climbed it! Samantha HATED the camels. She cried whenever they came near, so Brian walked way ahead with her in the pack on his back. Blaine, Lisa and I rode behind on the camels... not a comfortable ride, for those who wonder. I think next time I would opt to walk. But it was an experience to say I rode a camel up Mt Sinai, for only about $13. Not bad, eh? Here are the picts...

Rest stop where we left the camels. Our guide, Mahmoud (or Moody, as he told us to call him) sits between me and Lisa. Sam is crying because she sees a camel.
Below, Blaine and the camel size each other up. Notice Blaine's hat... He got it for $5 and was very pleased with it. Everywhere we went, people kept calling him Cowboy, or making jokes like "where's your horse?" He adopted his own theme music from India Jones.
The chapel on top...
Pictures near the very tippy top...