I am my own personal snow globe. What do you mean? you might ask. I am peeling. I could do a shimmy and a great cloud will envelope me. Like a snow globe. It's quite disgusting. My back is a lovely shade of mottled brown and the rate at which the dead skin is coming off is astounding.
We went to the beach last weekend and I neglected to put sunscreen on except on my face and ears. Nothing else on my body got burnt; just my back. When we hit the beach, I wanted about 30 minutes of sunshine with no protection - you know, for the vitamin D. Then I planned to put sunscreen on. But I didn't. Why on earth not? you might ask. Yes, I know. I'm from Florida and I grew up going to the beach and I should know better. Let me tell you why: it's all A's fault. I'm talking about the two-year-old kid that belongs to us.
The minute we stepped onto the sand, A was busy. She was busy running around, running to the water, running off to play with neighboring beach-goers. She was busy wanting to go swimming and we were busy trying to keep her from drowning. I just forgot to put sunscreen on. Later on, that fact was niggling in the back of my mind in a vague way and I vaguely reasoned that the sun was drifting in and out from behind clouds and I didn't feel burnt. After all, we weren't going to be there long because the beach can tire out a toddler better than anything on earth. Well, we ended up staying a longer than I anticipated.
Imagine my pain the next day. G and I went to speak at a location and saw so many people there who love us and show their love with giant hugs and hands clapping on my back. Ow.
A toddler can make you forget something really important when you've got your mind fixed on your toddler's safety that your own protection isn't even on your radar. Lesson learned. Next time, put on sunscreen at home even if it rubs off on your clothes on way to the beach. It's better than nothing.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Breaking Free
After 10 weeks, we finally got out of training, endured 16 hours of driving in holiday weekend traffic, and now we're at my mom's home in Florida. My brother and his family came to visit, celebrate the 4th, and say our last goodbyes. We enjoyed the 4th with all our kids swimming in a kiddie pool, playing kickball and a little bit of frisbee, spraying on bug spray, setting off fireworks, and eating homemade ice cream. A had tremendous fun playing with her cousins. As they were leaving to return to their home today, she climbed into their van and said, "I go! I go!" I know she was sad to see her playmates leave and I was sad to say goodbye for 3 years.
The next two weeks will be filled with 101 things to accomplish before we leave on top of packing, repacking, and packing some more. We will be visiting with friends and family while squeezing in a day or two of relaxation at the beach.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Catching Up Part Deux
Seems like I'm always trying to play catch up on this blog. It's been well over a month since I posted last. We are still at training. The good news is, we finish on Friday at 3:00 pm on the dot. We will depart for Florida on Saturday. Hello, St. George Island! I need me some beach time. We will be visiting with my side of the family and with friends also.
Other than the standard 9-to-5 training schedule, we have done some other things like swimming at a local pool on a Saturday morning and visiting G's grandmother who lives 2 hours away from our current location and grandfather who lives 15 minutes away. My father came to visit for a weekend and two dear friends, Carrie and Paige, came to our commissioning and I was so sad to see them all go and head back home. Goodbyes stink.
I hadn't been able to sew for 6 weeks until last night. I am still working on A's duvet cover. I plan to finish tonight and I'll post again with pictures of the duvet cover - hopefully sooner than a month.
That's all I have to say!
Other than the standard 9-to-5 training schedule, we have done some other things like swimming at a local pool on a Saturday morning and visiting G's grandmother who lives 2 hours away from our current location and grandfather who lives 15 minutes away. My father came to visit for a weekend and two dear friends, Carrie and Paige, came to our commissioning and I was so sad to see them all go and head back home. Goodbyes stink.
I hadn't been able to sew for 6 weeks until last night. I am still working on A's duvet cover. I plan to finish tonight and I'll post again with pictures of the duvet cover - hopefully sooner than a month.
That's all I have to say!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Whoops
I just realized it's been over a month since I last posted. We are currently at training and boy howdy, it's been busy. We're glad the selling of all our worldly possessions and the move to the training facility are behind us but we still have a lot of transitions ahead of us. We're halfway through training and we just now feel like we've settled in. Time is flying by at such dizzying speed.
A goes to preschool while we're training all day and she loves it. She likes going, loves the activities, enjoys interacting with her friends, and she actually naps there. Her vocabulary is growing. She's dropping her signs though and it's been really hard for me to communicate with her now. We get frustrated and we both have temper tantrums :-)
I actually got to sew a little bit last Sunday, in spite of our hectic schedule. I worked on a duvet cover for a twin feather comforter that I owned from a previous life as a single. I didn't want to get rid of the comforter so I decided to give it to A. The duvet cover pattern is from Amy Butler's In Stitches book but I've adapted it so it won't be as busy as the instructions direct you to make it. If I follow the instructions to a T, your eyes will turn into whirligigs when you look at the duvet cover. It's pretty crazy. Anyway, it'll be a while before I can finish and post a picture of it on this blog. G continues to take pictures as his new portable hobby. Portable is the key word because we will basically be nomads for a long while.
I can't think of anything else to say so I will sign off.
A goes to preschool while we're training all day and she loves it. She likes going, loves the activities, enjoys interacting with her friends, and she actually naps there. Her vocabulary is growing. She's dropping her signs though and it's been really hard for me to communicate with her now. We get frustrated and we both have temper tantrums :-)
I actually got to sew a little bit last Sunday, in spite of our hectic schedule. I worked on a duvet cover for a twin feather comforter that I owned from a previous life as a single. I didn't want to get rid of the comforter so I decided to give it to A. The duvet cover pattern is from Amy Butler's In Stitches book but I've adapted it so it won't be as busy as the instructions direct you to make it. If I follow the instructions to a T, your eyes will turn into whirligigs when you look at the duvet cover. It's pretty crazy. Anyway, it'll be a while before I can finish and post a picture of it on this blog. G continues to take pictures as his new portable hobby. Portable is the key word because we will basically be nomads for a long while.
I can't think of anything else to say so I will sign off.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Our Progress
Progress is being made with packing. We've packed up 2 large suitcases, two small suitcases, and 3 footlockers so far. It looks like we'll end up checking 6 footlockers and 3 large suitcases while carrying on 3 small suitcases and 3 personal bags when we move overseas. The fact that Ava will have her own ticket and seat (therefore, her own allotment of baggage to check and to carry on) is an advantage. So, 15 bags total.
We're making some slow progress with selling our furniture. We've gotten rid of our china hutch,a dresser two dressers now! - and two night tables. Some other things have been spoken for but are still in our house. We need to sell Ava's crib and stroller/travel system. There are still some things that we've yet to post on Craigslist.
Progress. That's all.
We're making some slow progress with selling our furniture. We've gotten rid of our china hutch,
Progress. That's all.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Restaurant Cards for Celiacs
I found this website where you can print a restaurant card in a language of the country that you're visiting. Here is what the website says:
"These Celiac Travel-dot-com gluten free restaurant cards are for you to print out and take with you when you dine out at a restaurant, either at home or abroad. The great thing about being able to print your own is you can give them to the waiter or waitress to take to the kitchen. The most common problem with getting gluten free food when dining in restaurants is that your message gets lost or corrupted on its way to the kitchen. "
Very handy. The address is celiactravel-dot-com. Pass it along.
"These Celiac Travel-dot-com gluten free restaurant cards are for you to print out and take with you when you dine out at a restaurant, either at home or abroad. The great thing about being able to print your own is you can give them to the waiter or waitress to take to the kitchen. The most common problem with getting gluten free food when dining in restaurants is that your message gets lost or corrupted on its way to the kitchen. "
Very handy. The address is celiactravel-dot-com. Pass it along.