I'm thinking...

about the mechanics of how a green mouse becomes a hot snail.

Sybille's first...

tooth came in last night. Bottom, left.

comparative religions

While we were in the States and visiting a church, Alina picked up a tract.  It is a little booklet that compares the teachings of Jesus to certain other religious and philosophical teachers.  I think the reason she took a liking to this little booklet is that it is bright pink.  Anyway, the other day, she brought it to me and the following conversation took place: ALINA:  Mama, what does that say? ME:  Jesus. ALINA:  What does that say? ME:  Zoroaster ALINA: What's that? ME:  Well, he was a man who taught things a long time ago and people followed him and believed what he said.  (Hopefully that's true!) ALINA:  And that? ME:  Buddha. ALINA:  Who was that? ME:  Well, he lived in the East, and he taught some things, too. ALINA:  And that? ME:  Socrates. ALINA:  Did he teach soccer?

Procrastination?

Why did I wait until our third toothless child to be in possession of a plunging mixer?

A Stranger in a Strange...

We're back.  In case anyone missed it, we just spent 1 month in the good old U.S. of A.  I think we're glad to be back.  The girls, at any rate, have celebrated by waking up at 1:30am and throwing a party every night.  I can only assume that at bedtime, their bodies are in "nap" mode, so they sleep for a few hours and then are rarin' to go until their bodies said "bed" at about 5:00.  Anyway, here are some of my reflections and musings about, OK, let's say it, reverse culture shock.   My neighborhood has changed.  We took a walk at the Highlands Street Fair one of our first days there.  I felt like I didn't belong.  I felt like I was in suburbia.  Everywhere I looked were tanned women in strapless dresses with enormous sunglasses and cowboy hats pulling wagons or strollers with 2.5 children.  I am no longer a racial minority in my neighborhood, although I still somehow felt I was a cultural minority.  I should probably be rejoicing at the turnaround of my "inner-city" neighborhood, but it just felt weird.   As we walked up and down the Street Fair, the other thing that hit me was this:  I didn't see anyone I knew.  No one.  A big gathering of people in my home neighborhood, and there was no one I knew.  I began wishing that someone would recognize me, that someone would run up to me smiling and saying, "Dawn Kummer, whatever are you up to now?"  Someone that would make me feel like I was remembered.  Someone that would make me feel like my being there mattered.   To completely switch gears, there were some food issues.  Apparently, I now develop violent stomach cramps every time I eat hot dogs and chips.  This is a problem when one is in the U.S. around the 4th of July, and also when one is camping.  Then there was the ice issue.  I had never thought about it before, but the whole time we were there, every time Alina was served a drink with ice, she protested rather loudly and refused to drink it.  Tassia as well.  I began ordering things without ice for them, only to have that request occasionally forgotten.  I used to love ice in my drinks.  Now, I find it annoying to have to strain my drink through my teeth.   I don't remember the last time I ate so much peanut butter.  It was great!  (And, peanut butter cookies are on the agenda today at our house.)   We had a great time, mostly (see camping experience), and we're also glad to be back home.

Camping Adventures?

We just got back from a four-day camping trip, which was to be, in my mind at least, one of the highlights of our American vacation. We did have a wonderful time with my parents and Matthew and Jessica and two of our nieces, as well as their friend Melissa. The thing is, camping is always an adventure. Especially when you have 5 girls under the age of 6, plus of course 7 adults and two large dogs. The high-speed winds that almost knocked down one of the tents one evening provided some action. The girls got to go on their first fishing trip. Unfortunately, the first fish will have to wait until later. We had our first S'mores, and I think we set some sort of benchmark in terms of dirt accumulated on small bodies. We also had the pleasure of waking up one morning being 5 in our 2-person sleeping bag. And I somehow develop stomach cramps whenever I eat a meal involving grilled hot dogs or hamburgers and potato chips.

We chatted around the fire, went for walks, and my girls actually got to play "Duck Duck Goose" for the first time. It was also the occasion for much story-telling, as Alina's favorite line is now, "Mama, tell me a story about when you were little." We're all a little tanner, if you don't count the mosquito bites. (Note to self, lake+low-altitude camping=mosquitoes) Alina tried to set a chipmunk trap and I promised her that if she could catch one, she could keep it as a pet. (Figures I was pretty safe on that one.)

Thomas and I also had an important moment of honesty when, in the middle of the night, he said to me, "Dawn, je t'aime. Je t'adore. Mais je hais le camping." Unfortunate...

Camping Adventures

our first s'mores