Shopping with young children is never enjoyable. At the very best it is bearable, and other times you want to run out of the store in tears.
Wednesday was not my best shopping day. After swimming we ran over to Ross. I found a few new fall shirts for the girls and some outfits for a baby shower this week. When we went up to check out there were two huge lines that snaked a fair distance back into the store. Up until this time the girls had been pretty good, mostly because I had made them both ride in the cart. After waiting for five minutes to see if they'd open another register I decided there was no way this could end happily for me, so we pushed the cart to the front of the store (so they could see they were losing business) and left. Seriously, it could have taken us 30-45 minutes to check out. At that point C was out of the cart because there wasn't enough room for her in the basket with the merchandise, and she was ready to run.
I decided to hit the Wendy's drive thru to get them a little something to eat before we went to the next store, but upon seeing how long the line was I decided to find some place else. As we drove past all the cars in line, C exclaimed "This is crazy, mom. I mean this is just insane! Look at all those cars!" What five year old uses the word insane? At any rate, we had a good laugh and much better luck at the McDonalds drive thru across the street.
Finally we went to Kohls to look at a rice cooker, and now to also find a baby shower gift. Naturally, we had to make an urgent trip to the restroom - which was quite nice by the way. I hate disgusting public restrooms! I specifically asked M if she needed to go too, but she didn't. Afterwards we went back to the opposite side of the store to look at baby stuff. Three minutes after I started browsing, M announced that she desperately had to go to the bathroom. We tromp back over, get in the stall, and she doesn't have to go any more, so I tell her we won't be leaving the stall until she goes because otherwise we could play the back and forth game a few more times. Finally we finish in the bathroom, but by now the girls are clearly done and are no longer making any attempts at being on their best behavior, or even their passable behavior so we head straight to the check out line. As I'm swiping my credit card, I see that the rice cooker rang up four dollars more than the sale price. The cashier has to call the department, wait on hold while the girls are trying acrobatics around the store entrance, and then she confirms that the price I had seen was correct, but she couldn't do anything about it so I'd have to go back to the service desk located right next to the bathrooms. If it had just been me, I'd have been a little irritated, but no big deal. However, since I was losing the battle with two little ones and I can't leave the store yet due to no fault of my own, I was fuming mad. Not being a confrontational gal, I didn't say anything, but I'm pretty sure they could tell I was not pleased.
This is why I love shopping online so much. I can do it at midnight and take all the time in the world. There is no crying involved (on my part, or anyone else's). If I know exactly what I'm looking for then I'll usually buy it online. That's why I was so excited to get a shopping tip from one of my co-worker friends. I realize that I'm often the last person in the world to learn these kinds of tricks, but just in case I'm not, I thought I'd pass it on. You can do a search for specific store coupons online. On Monday night I did a little shopping. For my first purchase, I found a promotion code for 15% off, and my second purchase (different store) I got 20% off. The site I used was retailmenot. I found other sites too, but with this one you can vote whether the code worked for you or not, so you can have a pretty good idea based on feedback whether it's going to be a good code. My friend will also buy codes or coupons on Ebay if she's planning a big purchase. Paying 99 cents to save $40 is certainly worth it, and she says she hasn't had any problem with purchased coupons. She's even gotten printable ones that she's used in brick and mortar stores. I can't vouch for that personally, but I'm pretty excited that I saved about $17 on Monday without spending a dime.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Funny girls
Yep, we're still here. Nothing earth shaking to blog about though. C did not pass her swimming class, but she is happy as a clam to sit with me and watch M in her new swim class.
The last day of swimming lessons (for the first session), we went to a concert in the park in the evening. The girls and I were sitting in our camping chairs when M jumps up and runs toward a little girl who is also running towards her. They embrace in a bear hug like long lost friends. I, of course, did not recognize the little girl whose family then set up right behind us. M informs me that it is her friend from swimming class, whose name is unbeknownst to her. At any rate, the girls were pleased as punch to have a friend to dance with during the concert.
Last week we made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up flowers for a friends birthday. As we were passing thru the bakery section, C spied the display of donuts and asked very nicely if they could please have some. Since they were being good, I agreed to let them pick out a pastry to have after lunch. M picked a chocolate bar, C picked a chocolate bar with sprinkles, and I got my favorite - maple bar. As promised, I produced the pastries after lunch and the girls munched happily. I poured a glass of milk for M, and after drinking her milk and putting the cup down she looked around, perplexed. "Where did it go?" she asked, and glanced back down at her plate.
"Where did what go?"
She looked around some more, and said something that I couldn't understand.
"Are you looking for your donut?" I asked.
She nodded her head.
I burst out laughing, "M, it's still in your hand!"
She was holding her hand close to her body and hadn't seen it. The girls both thought she was HILARIOUS. M put her (empty) hand over her mouth and giggled, and then tried a re-enactment. Well, it was funny the first time.
On Saturday M was in her bathroom combing her hair. I have to be careful because she often twists the comb or brush around and then we have a real mess. But this day she seemed to be doing just fine, so I continued with what I was doing. However, when I walked past the bathroom the next time, the door was closed so I figured I'd better have a look. As soon as I started opening the door, M called out sweetly, "Mom, I didn't do anything." And there she stood, head and counter glopped with hair creme. In all truthfulness, it wasn't too bad to deal with. After cleaning the counter, I wet my hands and worked the product thru the rest of her hair. It actually turned out to be an excellent hair day for M. Hmm, maybe I'm not using enough creme in her hair when she wears it down.
Today P had Grandpa at home watch the girls since he had to work too. When they came home from swimming lessons Grandpa offered to make them lunch, which for some odd reason they declined. He had to run out too, so he had Grandma come over for a little bit while he went to the bank. When he came back, C ran up excitedly and told him they'd had lunch. He said good, but he obviously didn't understand so she explained that she had made lunch for her and her sister all by herself. She was so pleased because while grandma was "watching" them (I use the term loosely), C made them peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches on hot dog buns (the only white bread she could find), and they washed it down with chocolate milk she mixed up herself. Grandpa said she did a good job and she didn't make a mess. I did have a laugh when I got home and saw the cups in the sink with the remnants of the chocolate milk. They must have used the whole can of Ovaltine.
The last day of swimming lessons (for the first session), we went to a concert in the park in the evening. The girls and I were sitting in our camping chairs when M jumps up and runs toward a little girl who is also running towards her. They embrace in a bear hug like long lost friends. I, of course, did not recognize the little girl whose family then set up right behind us. M informs me that it is her friend from swimming class, whose name is unbeknownst to her. At any rate, the girls were pleased as punch to have a friend to dance with during the concert.
Last week we made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up flowers for a friends birthday. As we were passing thru the bakery section, C spied the display of donuts and asked very nicely if they could please have some. Since they were being good, I agreed to let them pick out a pastry to have after lunch. M picked a chocolate bar, C picked a chocolate bar with sprinkles, and I got my favorite - maple bar. As promised, I produced the pastries after lunch and the girls munched happily. I poured a glass of milk for M, and after drinking her milk and putting the cup down she looked around, perplexed. "Where did it go?" she asked, and glanced back down at her plate.
"Where did what go?"
She looked around some more, and said something that I couldn't understand.
"Are you looking for your donut?" I asked.
She nodded her head.
I burst out laughing, "M, it's still in your hand!"
She was holding her hand close to her body and hadn't seen it. The girls both thought she was HILARIOUS. M put her (empty) hand over her mouth and giggled, and then tried a re-enactment. Well, it was funny the first time.
On Saturday M was in her bathroom combing her hair. I have to be careful because she often twists the comb or brush around and then we have a real mess. But this day she seemed to be doing just fine, so I continued with what I was doing. However, when I walked past the bathroom the next time, the door was closed so I figured I'd better have a look. As soon as I started opening the door, M called out sweetly, "Mom, I didn't do anything." And there she stood, head and counter glopped with hair creme. In all truthfulness, it wasn't too bad to deal with. After cleaning the counter, I wet my hands and worked the product thru the rest of her hair. It actually turned out to be an excellent hair day for M. Hmm, maybe I'm not using enough creme in her hair when she wears it down.
Today P had Grandpa at home watch the girls since he had to work too. When they came home from swimming lessons Grandpa offered to make them lunch, which for some odd reason they declined. He had to run out too, so he had Grandma come over for a little bit while he went to the bank. When he came back, C ran up excitedly and told him they'd had lunch. He said good, but he obviously didn't understand so she explained that she had made lunch for her and her sister all by herself. She was so pleased because while grandma was "watching" them (I use the term loosely), C made them peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches on hot dog buns (the only white bread she could find), and they washed it down with chocolate milk she mixed up herself. Grandpa said she did a good job and she didn't make a mess. I did have a laugh when I got home and saw the cups in the sink with the remnants of the chocolate milk. They must have used the whole can of Ovaltine.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Another call
Last week we got another call from DHS about a potential foster to adopt situation. J is a happy and healthy six month old baby boy who has been well cared for by his grandparents, who want to be grandparents and not parents at this stage in their life. The caseworker had me at "mellow".
When I asked her about J's ethnic background, she was a little taken aback. She said "He's caucasian, but does it really matter?" I briefly explained that while it isn't a deal breaker, we think it would be nice to have another non-caucasian child so that M won't stand out as being the only one physically different. She said "Well, he's 1/4 Jewish, if that counts." I don't think she was offended when I laughed at her.
We did go meet J and his grandparents. He truly was a happy and easy going baby, and the grandparents were really nice too! I don't know why I didn't feel any kind of connection with him. I really didn't feel anything at all, so I took that as my sign that J is not meant to join our family. After praying about my decision, I didn't feel any differently. P didn't feel anything either, but he's not expecting as much as I am either. He thinks that I'm expecting to feel like I've been hit by lightning. I don't think that I am, but I don't think it's too much to expect to feel strong feelings.
I already know that it's going to be different when we're talking about a child that is already here (and a greater risk that the adoption won't happen when doing foster to adopt) than when we adopted our girls as newborns. Although we were scared about both adoptions - whether everything would work out for us to bring the girls home, or where the money would come from - we felt very certain that we should pursue both opportunities, and that if the girls were meant to be ours that everything would work out. I'm sure that we would have been heartbroken had either girl not become our daughters, but it would have happened within weeks of our even becoming aware that we might be able to add to our family. Now we could have years of loving a child and then not being able to make them a permanent part of the family, not to mention taking into consideration how a failed situation could affect our girls. I just don't want to take any chances unless I feel confident that this is what we should do.
It's hard to understand why such a happy child shouldn't be part of our family. It's even harder to explain to caseworkers and especially the grandparents why we weren't going to take J. Understandably, I think the grandparents felt that it was a personal rejection - which it absolutely was not. Perhaps his case won't go the route of adoption after all, or perhaps there is a better family for him, or maybe our employment status is about to change and we just shouldn't be taking on the extra responsibility now. We may never know the "why".
On an adoption related note, I had an interesting little experience at the swimming pool last week. Most people don't give my little transracial family a second look, although I do occasionally have someone ask if M is adopted. This time a woman asked me if I was M's babysitter! I assured her that both girls were mine. She looked a little confused, but I didn't elaborate. She probably just came to the conclusion that I get around.
When I asked her about J's ethnic background, she was a little taken aback. She said "He's caucasian, but does it really matter?" I briefly explained that while it isn't a deal breaker, we think it would be nice to have another non-caucasian child so that M won't stand out as being the only one physically different. She said "Well, he's 1/4 Jewish, if that counts." I don't think she was offended when I laughed at her.
We did go meet J and his grandparents. He truly was a happy and easy going baby, and the grandparents were really nice too! I don't know why I didn't feel any kind of connection with him. I really didn't feel anything at all, so I took that as my sign that J is not meant to join our family. After praying about my decision, I didn't feel any differently. P didn't feel anything either, but he's not expecting as much as I am either. He thinks that I'm expecting to feel like I've been hit by lightning. I don't think that I am, but I don't think it's too much to expect to feel strong feelings.
I already know that it's going to be different when we're talking about a child that is already here (and a greater risk that the adoption won't happen when doing foster to adopt) than when we adopted our girls as newborns. Although we were scared about both adoptions - whether everything would work out for us to bring the girls home, or where the money would come from - we felt very certain that we should pursue both opportunities, and that if the girls were meant to be ours that everything would work out. I'm sure that we would have been heartbroken had either girl not become our daughters, but it would have happened within weeks of our even becoming aware that we might be able to add to our family. Now we could have years of loving a child and then not being able to make them a permanent part of the family, not to mention taking into consideration how a failed situation could affect our girls. I just don't want to take any chances unless I feel confident that this is what we should do.
It's hard to understand why such a happy child shouldn't be part of our family. It's even harder to explain to caseworkers and especially the grandparents why we weren't going to take J. Understandably, I think the grandparents felt that it was a personal rejection - which it absolutely was not. Perhaps his case won't go the route of adoption after all, or perhaps there is a better family for him, or maybe our employment status is about to change and we just shouldn't be taking on the extra responsibility now. We may never know the "why".
On an adoption related note, I had an interesting little experience at the swimming pool last week. Most people don't give my little transracial family a second look, although I do occasionally have someone ask if M is adopted. This time a woman asked me if I was M's babysitter! I assured her that both girls were mine. She looked a little confused, but I didn't elaborate. She probably just came to the conclusion that I get around.
Swimming lessons
The girls started their swimming lessons last week. Well, C's class is a beginning swim class. M's class is more of a getting comfortable with water series for preschoolers. I wish I could put her in the swim class too since she already quite comfortable in water, but she's not old enough yet.
I've mentioned before that C doesn't like getting splashed or getting her face wet, so I think that is why she isn't loving swimming lessons this year. (She did previously complete the three part preschooler water series.) When we get to the pool she doesn't want to go with her teacher, and then once she is with the class she seems to do the bare minimum in the water. Today her aunt had to take her to lessons and I've heard that she was kicked out of the pool for being disruptive. I'm sure I'll find out more today after work. Hopefully she'll be welcomed back tomorrow so she can finish her class this week. I expect that she won't be passing her class, so I'm contemplating not putting her into any more swim classes until M catches up with her. Perhaps if they're in a class together she would be more cooperative. I just don't know.
M was initially very timid in her class. I don't think it was the water so much as it was that she needed a few days to warm up to her instructors and fellow classmates. She didn't want to leave P's side the first two days, but by the time I took her to class on Wednesday she was enthusiastically participating. On Friday she was making me laugh out loud because they were taking turns jumping into the water. She'd jump in, hurry out, and then bounce and dance around in line until it was her turn again. I was quite pleased to see her so excited about her class. After class she came and stood in front of me, still bouncing and dancing and said "Mom, I HAVE to go POTTY!" So much for her display of enthusiasm. She is loving her class though, and gets excited each night when we confirm that she has swim class again the next day.
I've mentioned before that C doesn't like getting splashed or getting her face wet, so I think that is why she isn't loving swimming lessons this year. (She did previously complete the three part preschooler water series.) When we get to the pool she doesn't want to go with her teacher, and then once she is with the class she seems to do the bare minimum in the water. Today her aunt had to take her to lessons and I've heard that she was kicked out of the pool for being disruptive. I'm sure I'll find out more today after work. Hopefully she'll be welcomed back tomorrow so she can finish her class this week. I expect that she won't be passing her class, so I'm contemplating not putting her into any more swim classes until M catches up with her. Perhaps if they're in a class together she would be more cooperative. I just don't know.
M was initially very timid in her class. I don't think it was the water so much as it was that she needed a few days to warm up to her instructors and fellow classmates. She didn't want to leave P's side the first two days, but by the time I took her to class on Wednesday she was enthusiastically participating. On Friday she was making me laugh out loud because they were taking turns jumping into the water. She'd jump in, hurry out, and then bounce and dance around in line until it was her turn again. I was quite pleased to see her so excited about her class. After class she came and stood in front of me, still bouncing and dancing and said "Mom, I HAVE to go POTTY!" So much for her display of enthusiasm. She is loving her class though, and gets excited each night when we confirm that she has swim class again the next day.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Motorcycle for a day
P bought this Harley Davidson motorcycle the other day. He was soooo excited to have a bike to ride again! The girls have been dying for him to get one too.
Unfortunately, this one wasn't a keeper. Maybe someday. But he and the girls sure enjoyed it while it lasted. I honestly don't know who was more bummed about him selling the bike, but it was only around for a day before someone snapped it up.
Even our neighbor was sad to see it go. (He was hoping to take it for a spin.) Yes, I'm talking about Mr Neighbor that I've previously written about because he's been so unfriendly. I don't know what has changed, but he has been very nice to us the last couple of weeks. No more complaint calls to the city, no more ignoring us, no more perma-scowl. He actually looks, well, happy. Hopefully this will last!
Unfortunately, this one wasn't a keeper. Maybe someday. But he and the girls sure enjoyed it while it lasted. I honestly don't know who was more bummed about him selling the bike, but it was only around for a day before someone snapped it up.
Even our neighbor was sad to see it go. (He was hoping to take it for a spin.) Yes, I'm talking about Mr Neighbor that I've previously written about because he's been so unfriendly. I don't know what has changed, but he has been very nice to us the last couple of weeks. No more complaint calls to the city, no more ignoring us, no more perma-scowl. He actually looks, well, happy. Hopefully this will last!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Safety Town
Last Thursday C finished up Safety Town. They actually had a graduation, which I find a bit ridiculous. Graduations should be reserved for more life changing occasions like the completion of high school and college - not kindergarten, preschool,or a summer camp... but I digress.
Safety Town is an excellent program - a two week day camp to teach kindergartners and first graders safety concepts such as traffic, guns, fire, drugs, animals, poisons, stranger danger, water and more. I'm really glad that C had the opportunity to participate since it brought up so many issues that we don't deal with on a daily basis, and thus may forget to cover. The topics are reinforced with related art projects, guest speakers and some "hands on" experiences.
One of the things I appreciated was that they did a bicycle helmet fitting. C has an exceptionally small head, and she's never grown out of the smallest helmet we could find for her several years ago - it's still loose! Believe it or not, there have actually been some recent innovations in the world of bike helmets, and we were able to have her fitted for a new helmet that sits snuggly on her head for only $5. They asked that parents be present for the fittings, so M was there too. Naturally, she wanted a new helmet too. Her head is considerably bigger, so she got a size down from an adult helmet - which is too big to be cutesy, but she didn't mind. Two helmets for $10, what a deal!
4th of July
Now that I have kids the 4th of July is one of my most favorite days of the year. I remember when I was little, the city we lived in had a firework show every year. We lived on the lower elevations of a hill, so we could see the firework show from my bedroom window, but sometimes dad would drive us further up the hill so we could see even better. I remember my parents barbequeing sometimes, and occasionally we even got to do sparklers. My earliest memories of Independence Day are the fondest. When I was older, the city stopped putting on a firework show, and my parents had bought a travel trailer so most of the time we were camping at the beach for the holiday. While I loved being at the beach, the 4th of July just wasn't the same. Maybe a big part of that was simply because I was older and things just naturally lose some of their "magic". At any rate, fireworks kind of fizzle in the damp air, and there was no big show close by.
When we moved to our current house six years ago I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the 4th is celebrated in a big way in our community. The city puts on a firework show and a family friendly event at the park with bouncy houses, a big blow up slide, petting zoo and pony rides, face painting, live music, food booths and a few other odds and ends.
The reason I get so excited for the 4th is because it is chock full of fun for the girls, without really requiring much effort or planning on our part. How cool is it that nearly anything we would want to do is within walking distance?!
Our day started out bright and early with a flag raising ceremony and a breakfast at the church. They've built a nice covered pavillion next to the large field behind the church, so it's perfect for outdoor functions like this - and tons of room for the kids to run around when they're done eating. I love that this has become an annual event. It's such a great way to start the day and to remind us what we are really celebrating. I also remember attending several similar functions when I was young.
By the time we got home, the girls had a little down time while I prepared our food contribution for Hillbilly's barbeque. Unfortunately, this event is not within walking distance - so you need to move closer, Hillbilly! A good time was had by all, and fortunately this BBQ was less eventful than the last one we attended two years ago. That time C was playing in the yard with the other kids when she came up to me complaining that her mouth was burning. Turns out she had picked and eaten what she thought was a baby corn. I believe it was actually anthurium. So that was my first call to poison control, and hopefully my last. But by the time we got off the phone, she was feeling fine again - although we did give her and another inquisitive little girl a glass of milk for good measure.
We got home from the barbeque in the late afternoon, which is later than I like to nap the girls, but since we planned on keeping them up late, we couldn't skip naps. When they woke up we skeedaddled over to the park, only to find that they had already shut down the petting zoo and blow up stuff. They did still get to play in the sand area that was sponsored by P's sister's business Players for awhile - so that helped ease their disappointment. There was also a band playing, with a stage set up for dancing that was crowded with kids. Naturally, the girls were up there too. They were soooo cute dancing together and holding hands. C showed us her favorite move, the two fingers over the eyes that originated in the movie Pulp Fiction. I have no idea where she learned it, but it's pretty adorable when she does it. I pulled out my camera to take a picture, but the batteries were dead. I put in my spare rechargeable batteries, but they were dead too! So you're just going to have to imagine them in all of their cuteness.
We went home to watch the fireworks from the house. We must have one of the best views in the valley - right from our back deck. We can see the fireworks from the park, plus a 360 degree view of all the other fireworks being set off in the bowl of the valley. I've never lived anywhere where there have been so many illegal fireworks. This year there were warnings of cracking down on illegal fireworks, but it didn't appear to scare anyone off. I'm always amazed at how many people have money to burn, especially in the current economy. It was a great show, and the girls gratefully went to bed when it was all over.
When we moved to our current house six years ago I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the 4th is celebrated in a big way in our community. The city puts on a firework show and a family friendly event at the park with bouncy houses, a big blow up slide, petting zoo and pony rides, face painting, live music, food booths and a few other odds and ends.
The reason I get so excited for the 4th is because it is chock full of fun for the girls, without really requiring much effort or planning on our part. How cool is it that nearly anything we would want to do is within walking distance?!
Our day started out bright and early with a flag raising ceremony and a breakfast at the church. They've built a nice covered pavillion next to the large field behind the church, so it's perfect for outdoor functions like this - and tons of room for the kids to run around when they're done eating. I love that this has become an annual event. It's such a great way to start the day and to remind us what we are really celebrating. I also remember attending several similar functions when I was young.
By the time we got home, the girls had a little down time while I prepared our food contribution for Hillbilly's barbeque. Unfortunately, this event is not within walking distance - so you need to move closer, Hillbilly! A good time was had by all, and fortunately this BBQ was less eventful than the last one we attended two years ago. That time C was playing in the yard with the other kids when she came up to me complaining that her mouth was burning. Turns out she had picked and eaten what she thought was a baby corn. I believe it was actually anthurium. So that was my first call to poison control, and hopefully my last. But by the time we got off the phone, she was feeling fine again - although we did give her and another inquisitive little girl a glass of milk for good measure.
We got home from the barbeque in the late afternoon, which is later than I like to nap the girls, but since we planned on keeping them up late, we couldn't skip naps. When they woke up we skeedaddled over to the park, only to find that they had already shut down the petting zoo and blow up stuff. They did still get to play in the sand area that was sponsored by P's sister's business Players for awhile - so that helped ease their disappointment. There was also a band playing, with a stage set up for dancing that was crowded with kids. Naturally, the girls were up there too. They were soooo cute dancing together and holding hands. C showed us her favorite move, the two fingers over the eyes that originated in the movie Pulp Fiction. I have no idea where she learned it, but it's pretty adorable when she does it. I pulled out my camera to take a picture, but the batteries were dead. I put in my spare rechargeable batteries, but they were dead too! So you're just going to have to imagine them in all of their cuteness.
We went home to watch the fireworks from the house. We must have one of the best views in the valley - right from our back deck. We can see the fireworks from the park, plus a 360 degree view of all the other fireworks being set off in the bowl of the valley. I've never lived anywhere where there have been so many illegal fireworks. This year there were warnings of cracking down on illegal fireworks, but it didn't appear to scare anyone off. I'm always amazed at how many people have money to burn, especially in the current economy. It was a great show, and the girls gratefully went to bed when it was all over.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Blixtar och dunder
A week ago we celebrated my brother in law's birthday. This was the same weekend that we had temps over 100. That Sunday was expected to be super hot too, and we were going to have his party at the park. Thankfully the extreme heat did not materialize, although it was hot and humid. It remained overcast much of the day, and started to rain shortly before the party was scheduled, so the party was moved to the newly cleaned and painted garage of my in-laws. It turned out to be a great location because it still felt like an outdoor party. The kids could play outside between rain showers and we could all stay dry.
Eventually a lightning storm rolled in. Some of the lightning was so close that you could hear the thunder before the lightning bolt disappeared from view. It was a fantastic storm to behold! Needless to say, the kids were kept inside at this point. Last year C loved to watch lightning storms with me. She was initially scared when I brought her in during this storm, but that might have been because she'd never been aware of the potential danger to herself before. It didn't take long for C and M to be completely enthralled; they were more than a little dismayed when the storm passed.
I can't find any specific numbers, but I seem to recall the meteorologist saying on the news that night that there were over 1000 lightning strikes, although many of those were in the eastern part of the state. There was a fair amount of damage, and two men in a nearby community were struck by lightning - one of which was seriously injured.
Here's a few photos I found online, including one from another storm on July 3rd. Sadly, I slept through that one. You can go to the source and see more photos by clicking here.
I have been a huge fan of lightning storms for some time now. I actually get giddy. Not quite as giddy as when it snows, but it's up there. I've decided my love for storms can be traced back to the summer of 1986. I spent the summer living with a wonderful family in Sweden. It was probably the most fun summer of my life! My memory may not be totally accurate, but I seem to remember having lightning storms on a nightly basis that summer. I do know that there were more storms than usual, which was attributed to radiation in the atmosphere following the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
So now my reminiscing of time spent in Sweden brings me to the title of this entry. "Blixtar och dunder" is lightning and thunder in Swedish. It is also the opening line of a song by a Swedish pop group (three LDS brothers) called Herrey's. They won the 1984 Eurovision song contest with this song, which is a huge deal over there. Since they were squeaky clean, my mom helped nurture my fascination with the band. I was particularly impressed with the two younger (and single) brothers. I thought they were both "fine" and I would have been happy to call either one mine. In 1985 my whole family was in Sweden and we planned to catch a Herrey's concert in a park. I was totally excited to be going to their concert as it was only my second concert ever (my first was the Osmonds circa 1980). Imagine my dorky glee when it turned out my mom knew the oldest Herrey brother's father-in-law, and we got to meet them after the show. I was so nervous to be meeting my potential boyfriends that I clammed up and I'm sure I failed to make a lasting impression. Nonetheless, it remains a memorable moment in my life - and I have a picture to document this glorious event. Depending on how old you are, you may or may not remember how cool these ToysRUs sweatshirts used to be. I'm pretty sure I swooned when one of the brothers sang the jingle to me that was in all the ToysRUs commercials at that time. (I think is was Richard - the blond one.)
As I pulled out the photo to scan, I surprised to see that the original photo has my brother in it too. As you can see, Louis' arm is stretched out, but when I had this photo blown up for my room, and also made a wallet size for my purse, I cut him out. I totally don't remember him being there. I guess I was just in my own little world : )
Now the purpose of posting this photo is two fold. The first is to show the object(s) of my young teenage affection (since the members of Duran Duran were totally unaccessible to me). The second is to appease my Hillbilly friend. You see, as a lark I posted a photo of myself on my Facebook page a couple of months ago - showing me in all of my permed glory back in 1990. My friend was awestruck by my timeless beauty, but said that she could do better than that - so I challenged her to out-ugly me. You can see that she rose to the challenge here. I have not responded in a timely fashion because I am secure in the fact that I will, indeed, out ugly her and because I know that it will require a considerable amount of time scanning and editing old photos. So Hillbilly, consider this my first entry and stop bugging me : )
Since this has turned into a bit of a tribute to Herrey's, I'm going to put on one of their promotional photos (which is signed for me on the back) and I'm going to see if I can link to a You Tube video of their performance that won the Eurovision contest for your viewing pleasure. Now before you go making fun of the gold boots in the video, let me just tell you that they tied in with the words of the song. Everything else is just pure 80's.
Eventually a lightning storm rolled in. Some of the lightning was so close that you could hear the thunder before the lightning bolt disappeared from view. It was a fantastic storm to behold! Needless to say, the kids were kept inside at this point. Last year C loved to watch lightning storms with me. She was initially scared when I brought her in during this storm, but that might have been because she'd never been aware of the potential danger to herself before. It didn't take long for C and M to be completely enthralled; they were more than a little dismayed when the storm passed.
I can't find any specific numbers, but I seem to recall the meteorologist saying on the news that night that there were over 1000 lightning strikes, although many of those were in the eastern part of the state. There was a fair amount of damage, and two men in a nearby community were struck by lightning - one of which was seriously injured.
Here's a few photos I found online, including one from another storm on July 3rd. Sadly, I slept through that one. You can go to the source and see more photos by clicking here.
I have been a huge fan of lightning storms for some time now. I actually get giddy. Not quite as giddy as when it snows, but it's up there. I've decided my love for storms can be traced back to the summer of 1986. I spent the summer living with a wonderful family in Sweden. It was probably the most fun summer of my life! My memory may not be totally accurate, but I seem to remember having lightning storms on a nightly basis that summer. I do know that there were more storms than usual, which was attributed to radiation in the atmosphere following the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
So now my reminiscing of time spent in Sweden brings me to the title of this entry. "Blixtar och dunder" is lightning and thunder in Swedish. It is also the opening line of a song by a Swedish pop group (three LDS brothers) called Herrey's. They won the 1984 Eurovision song contest with this song, which is a huge deal over there. Since they were squeaky clean, my mom helped nurture my fascination with the band. I was particularly impressed with the two younger (and single) brothers. I thought they were both "fine" and I would have been happy to call either one mine. In 1985 my whole family was in Sweden and we planned to catch a Herrey's concert in a park. I was totally excited to be going to their concert as it was only my second concert ever (my first was the Osmonds circa 1980). Imagine my dorky glee when it turned out my mom knew the oldest Herrey brother's father-in-law, and we got to meet them after the show. I was so nervous to be meeting my potential boyfriends that I clammed up and I'm sure I failed to make a lasting impression. Nonetheless, it remains a memorable moment in my life - and I have a picture to document this glorious event. Depending on how old you are, you may or may not remember how cool these ToysRUs sweatshirts used to be. I'm pretty sure I swooned when one of the brothers sang the jingle to me that was in all the ToysRUs commercials at that time. (I think is was Richard - the blond one.)
As I pulled out the photo to scan, I surprised to see that the original photo has my brother in it too. As you can see, Louis' arm is stretched out, but when I had this photo blown up for my room, and also made a wallet size for my purse, I cut him out. I totally don't remember him being there. I guess I was just in my own little world : )
Now the purpose of posting this photo is two fold. The first is to show the object(s) of my young teenage affection (since the members of Duran Duran were totally unaccessible to me). The second is to appease my Hillbilly friend. You see, as a lark I posted a photo of myself on my Facebook page a couple of months ago - showing me in all of my permed glory back in 1990. My friend was awestruck by my timeless beauty, but said that she could do better than that - so I challenged her to out-ugly me. You can see that she rose to the challenge here. I have not responded in a timely fashion because I am secure in the fact that I will, indeed, out ugly her and because I know that it will require a considerable amount of time scanning and editing old photos. So Hillbilly, consider this my first entry and stop bugging me : )
Since this has turned into a bit of a tribute to Herrey's, I'm going to put on one of their promotional photos (which is signed for me on the back) and I'm going to see if I can link to a You Tube video of their performance that won the Eurovision contest for your viewing pleasure. Now before you go making fun of the gold boots in the video, let me just tell you that they tied in with the words of the song. Everything else is just pure 80's.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Fire dancing
I don't know why it's been so hard for me to sit down and write an update. The only thing I can think of is that I've been getting the girls to bed so late this summer that I have even less quiet time in the evening to get things accomplished. So I apologize for the posts becoming fewer and farther between, and then writing a marathon post when I do get around to it.
The last Saturday in June was a real scorcher - I almost decided to stay home rather than follow thru with plans to go to an outdoor festival celebrating cultures of the world. However, the festival was showcasing Pacific Island cultures so I really didn't want to miss that.
We've never been to this festival before. As a matter of fact, I'd never even heard of it before this year - probably because it's about an hour away. I do love the idea of a "world" festival though. We were a little disappointed that there wasn't more of a presence of Pacific Islanders there, but perhaps there was earlier in the day. (We didn't go until the evening since we planned to stay late.) Nonetheless, the festival was a pleasant diversion - even though the girls were more interested in the playground than any of the exhibits or booths. We did really enjoy the last show of the night - fire dancing! Although M would hardly even look at the dancers (she mostly bounced around in my lap and looked at the kids behind us), C seemed to enjoy the show. My only complaint was that there were far more palagi (caucasian) dancers than there were Polynesian dancers - but they still did a great job. I tried to take photos but it was too dark and we were too far away to get a good shot, so here's one from the program.
It was 11 o'clock by the time we got back to the car. The girls were asleep in less than three minutes, with P not far behind. Luckily I was driving. After such a hot day, I hated putting the girls to bed without a bath, but it was after midnight when we got home, and M didn't even wake as I carried her to bed and pulled her dirty clothes off. What is it with sleeping kids? There's just nothing sweeter!
Update: I came home from work tonight and downloaded the photos from my camera. My fire dance photos, while not great, did turn out better than I expected, so I'll post a few.
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By the way, I decided against writing a marathon update after all. Instead, I'll try to write a few over the course of the week to catch you up.
The last Saturday in June was a real scorcher - I almost decided to stay home rather than follow thru with plans to go to an outdoor festival celebrating cultures of the world. However, the festival was showcasing Pacific Island cultures so I really didn't want to miss that.
We've never been to this festival before. As a matter of fact, I'd never even heard of it before this year - probably because it's about an hour away. I do love the idea of a "world" festival though. We were a little disappointed that there wasn't more of a presence of Pacific Islanders there, but perhaps there was earlier in the day. (We didn't go until the evening since we planned to stay late.) Nonetheless, the festival was a pleasant diversion - even though the girls were more interested in the playground than any of the exhibits or booths. We did really enjoy the last show of the night - fire dancing! Although M would hardly even look at the dancers (she mostly bounced around in my lap and looked at the kids behind us), C seemed to enjoy the show. My only complaint was that there were far more palagi (caucasian) dancers than there were Polynesian dancers - but they still did a great job. I tried to take photos but it was too dark and we were too far away to get a good shot, so here's one from the program.
It was 11 o'clock by the time we got back to the car. The girls were asleep in less than three minutes, with P not far behind. Luckily I was driving. After such a hot day, I hated putting the girls to bed without a bath, but it was after midnight when we got home, and M didn't even wake as I carried her to bed and pulled her dirty clothes off. What is it with sleeping kids? There's just nothing sweeter!
Update: I came home from work tonight and downloaded the photos from my camera. My fire dance photos, while not great, did turn out better than I expected, so I'll post a few.
.jpg)
By the way, I decided against writing a marathon update after all. Instead, I'll try to write a few over the course of the week to catch you up.
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