Book Week 2012

Today the kids were supposed to dress up for book week. Colin and Grayson after some serious thought decided to choose characters that would allow them to dress as regular kids, no uniforms. I think they may be sick of uniforms. Grayson chose Horrible Harry, and Colin chose to be a moron from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.  Alonzo decided on Malfoy.  Most kids would choose Harry Potter, but Alonzo chose the villainous Malfoy. So I have a Horrible Harry, an unnamed moron, and Malfoy.  I am so proud.

 Choosing costumes was tough. Grayson wanted me to run right out and buy a ready made costume. I tried explaining that there are no costume shops in Malawi so that would be a bit difficult.  He was ready for me though.  "Mom, you are supped to hire a tailor."  Ummm...Yeah.  Perhaps it might just be time to look at a DC posting.  I think baby boy has been overseas a bit too long.

A moron, Draco Malfoy, and Horrible Harry. That's a whole lotta trouble on one couch.

Reading selections.

Apparently the choice of moron was related to hair length. I did offer to cut his hair so he could be the main character Greg, but he declined. I guess as long as he is happy, I'm happy. In any case he is at school and I can have some coffee in peace and quiet. Ahhh...Life is good.

Wordless Wednesday - Before and After

Wordless Wednesday - When I Yelled "HELP!!" This Wasn't What I Had In Mind.

He deserves it!

Today David was running some wires in the attic to hook my TV in the kitchen up to AFN. Yes I know that a TV in the kitchen makes me a little spoiled, but I don't mind, besides I spend a ridiculous amount of time in there since there is no such thing a convince food here.

Colin was in the living room playing video games on the computer when he heard a scratching sound in the corner, he was unaware that Dave was in the attic. Then dust started falling from the ceiling as David made a small hole to pull the cable from the AFN decoder into the attic. Colin jumped up and went tearing down the hall screaming, and I do mean screaming, "THERE'S A RAT! THERE'S A RAT! IT'S CHEWING THROUGH THE WALL! I SAW IT! THERE'S A RAT! DAD? WHERE ARE YOU? DAD? IT'S A RAT!"

I managed to keep it together long enough to accompany him back to the living room with a broom to kill the rat. Colin pointed up at the ceiling just as David let out an obliging rat-like squeak. Colin about fainted. I totally lost it giggling like a mad woman. It wasn't until David started to laugh up in the attic that Colin caught on that the only rat was his dad.

He is not pleased with either of us and feels we were being unfairly mean. I reminded him of this video but somehow he feels like terrorizing his mother with a ginormous spider is not at all the same thing as the possibility of a rat chewing through the ceiling. Apparently parents should know better. I am sure we pay for this little stunt at light's out time tonight, but seriously, I think he deserved it. Don't you?

Wordless Wednesday - Sugar Queue

Vacations - Past, Present, and Future

This week's BRU topic is vacations. Interestingly Dave and I were just talking about how this will be the fourth year in a row we have taken a family vacation. A real vacation, not a weekend camping trip, not R&R or home leave, but a real honest to goodness family vacation.

When we lived in the states we really didn't do family vacations. We occasionally went camping overnight, and we made a few day trips to the beach every summer, but we didn't have the budget, time, or the inclination to take family vacations. In fact before we moved overseas I can only remember two vacations, and one of those was our honeymoon. The other involved a RV. Let it be stated for the record that stuffing 3 kids (2 in diapers), 2 kittens (and their litter box), and two adults into a small confined space for 14 days is NOT the way to family happiness. At one point Dave offered to drop me and the kids off at the nearest airport with enough money to get home. I think he was serious.

In the last four years we have taken trips to Bavaria, England, Victoria Falls, and this Christmas on the way back from R&R we are swinging through Cape Town for a week. Everyone is excited about the upcoming trip, and each for different reasons. Colin wants to see Table Mountain. Grayson wants to see penguins. I'm not sure what Alonzo wants to see/do but he does seem happy about the chance to check off another country visited. Dave and I are just looking forward to having a bit of time to decompress after R&R. Seeing family and friends is wonderful but it can be a bit crazy and exhausting.

So why the change? Why do we take vacations now when we didn't before? Lots of reasons. Probably the biggest reason is where we are living. We are only going to be here in Africa for 3 years. After that we may never pass this way again so we are eager to get out and see as much as we reasonably can, while we can. Then, of course, we are at a different stage of life. The kids are older and more independent, we have more money, and Dave earns a heck of a lot more leave time than he did at his previous job. All that adds up to some pretty fabulous vacation opportunities.

I hope we continue to take family vacations every year for a long time to come, even if we end up back in the states. I love the time we spend together, exploring new places, and enjoying new experiences. One thing I would change is documenting our vacations, I tend to do a lousy job of that. I get so busy all caught up in the moment, that I forget to take time to reflect and write it all down. Looking back through my archives, I realized I didn't manage to do much more than post a few pictures of the trips. I will do better this next trip. Well, I'll try any way.

Next Family Vacation: Cape Town, South Africa.

*Update: Alonzo just informed me that he wants to go diving with the sharks in Cape Town. Umm....NO! I watch shark week too. I've seen the sharks jumping out of the water down in South Africa. This falls in the same category as tattoos, bungee jumping, and motorcycles. If you still want to do it when you grow up, leave home, and can pay for it yourself, then go for it. I am NOT going to support this insanity. Sorry Charlie.

Things Kids Say - Colin Edition

"Mom, Where is tortellini from? Italy or France?"

"Italy? Why?"

"Can we move to Italy? Please? They have good food."

We had this conversation as we cleaned up after dinner. I made tortellini with pesto cream sauce, yum! I love that kid, and Italy is OK with me. Too bad we will have to wait until this fall to find out if it is on our bid list.

Yogurt Success!

Yesterday I tried AGAIN to make yogurt. Yogurt, which countless websites assure me is beyond easy, has long eluded me. Every blessed time I try it instead of a thick creamy yogurt I end up with nasty sour milk. WHY? I follow the instructions carefully, checking temperatures, measuring everything meticulously, water baths, crock pots, doing pretty much everything but ordering one of those fancy make your own yogurt kit. I am (supposed to be) a good cook, why can't I make yogurt?

I prefer plain yogurt that I top with fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey. I don't like the flavored, too sweet yogurts available here. There is one brand of plain yogurt that one store stocks that I really like, but I am not alone. It always sells out quickly whenever a shipment comes in. Half the time I hear there is yogurt then get to the store only to find out there WAS yogurt but now it is sold out. It would be really great if I could figure out this yogurt thing so I could have a regular supply of the stuff.

Yesterday I tried again. And yes I used UHT milk because that's what I have. I started with a basic recipe but after doing a bunch of reading, I decided to make up my own procedure, no thermometer (good thing since the kids broke mine last month), no water baths, no fussing. And do you know what? It worked! This morning I had lovely, thick, fresh homemade yogurt for breakfast. Yummmm!

I'm not sure if I finally figured it out or if this was just a fluke. If it's a fluke it's a very tasty fluke. I will try it again and if it works I will post my instructions complete with pictures.

In the mean time tomorrow is the first day of Spring/Easter Break. For the next week and half the kiddos will be out of school and running wild. This morning I am putting my feet up, pretending I don't see the wallpaper spider, watching television, and drinking a cup of tea. Ahhh relaxation!

What's a wallpaper spider you ask? It's a remarkably flat spider, I have no idea what it is really called, the kids dubbed it a wallpaper spider. It's so flat the first time I saw one I thought it was a sticker, until it moved, then I screamed. They are incredible fast. There is one running laps between the TV, the cuckoo clock, and the curtains. I tried to make a video but the darn thing is too fast. Ignoring it seems the best bet. Meanwhile there is an HGTV program on the Home channel. HGTV is my secret vice and one of the things I miss most about home. So I am going to sign off now, go grab a cup of English breakfast tea and put my feet up. Have a great day, I intend to!

P.S. I have a post up on how to make ricotta cheese from scratch over on Hardship Homemaking. I find it's a lot more foolproof than making yogurt. Click on over and check it out!

Wordless Wednesday -- What I Miss

FS BRU

Just a quick note: The Foreign Service Blog Round Up is up at Jill's blog. Take a few minutes to click over and read what people are up to around the world. Even though we are spread out over every continent except Antarctica we do form a community, a very spread out community, but a community all the same. That's the theme of this week's round up. Community. Come join our online community, if even for just a little while.

Happy reading!

Hey Jude

This evening as I walked down the hall, past the bathroom, I heard something that just made me smile.

Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Alonzo was singing in the shower. Even better he was belting out Beetles tunes. He has always liked music and playing piano, but he has never been one to stop talking long enough to listen to music on the radio and actually learn the lyrics. Lately though, he's been on a Beetles kick, listening to a song over and over until he can sing it all. I am loving watching him develop his own taste in music. Even better I am liking that he is choosing classic music instead of just going with what is popular now.

Wordless Wednesday -- Snail Attack

Only In Africa

The gardener just knocked on the door. There is a snake in the water tank. A big big snake. He thinks it is a mamba. This is the water tank that holds all of our water for cleaning, laundry, and bathing. I took a shower this morning, in snake water. BLECH! I feel a sudden need to take a bath but there is snake in the water. The gardener wants me to come look at the snake. Uhhh...NOOO!

I don't do snakes especially if there is the remotest chance that the snake is a mamba. And it is a very remote chance indeed, so far they have identified brown house snakes, herald snakes, and sand snakes as mambas. All of these snakes are small, less than a yard in length and not dangerous to man. Mambas are freaking huge, around 10 feet long. I really wish there was a zoo I could take them to and show them a live mamba so at least they would't have a total heart attack every time they saw a snake.

They do have good cause to be afraid of snakes around here. This is mamba country. It's also cobra and boomslang and adder country. Antivenin is generally not available at hospitals so a bite is almost always lethal. However even here the vast majority of snakes are not dangerous and do eat an awful lot of rodents. Rodents that otherwise would be eating their crops. A little education could go a long way. Still I am NOT going out there to look at a big big snake in swimming around in the water I took a shower in this morning. ICKY.

Update: Called David. Snakes, like cockroaches, are clearly the husband's problem. He took a coffee break and dashed home, we live less than 10 minutes from the embassy, and checked out the situation. It is not a mamba, nor is it a big big snake. Big big snakes are more than 10 feet long in my book, big snakes would be around 5 feet. This guy was only about 2 feet. It was another herald snake. One of the biggest we have seen yet, but still a herald. Not lethal, in fact a bite from this guy is no worse than a wasp sting resulting in a headache and some mild swelling. They are very mild mannered and will slither away if given any chance to escape.

Dave fished it out with a piece of bamboo, for which the snake thanked him by squirting musk all over his work pants. EWWW NASTY! He turned it loose by our pond well away from our water tank, and told the gardeners and the guard not to kill it. None of them are very happy with Dave right now. I noticed that the gardeners are now working on the other side of the house well away from the release site and the guard is staying far away from the pond as he goes on his rounds.

Wordless Wednesday -- Lake Malawi

Wordless Wednesday -- Science Experiment by Colin and Grayson