In No Particular Order

I have a bunch of bits of news floating around in my head, and since it's already past 10 pm, I'll just share them in no particular order. (you know, so I don't have to think too hard!)

1. Christin is finally feeling better after an entire week of crankiness. She ran a fever almost all of last week, and by Wednesday night/Thursday morning I realized that she had some sores in her mouth. As best as we could tell (from internet research) she had Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Her hands and feet were fine but the fever, followed by the mouth sores, seemed to point to HFM. Since it's a virus, there wasn't anything we could really do for her other than to give her something for the pain. She ate yogurt like a crazy fiend and otherwise was just pretty cranky. Friday morning we had to go to the police station to renew our visa, and just as we were putting on our shoes, she threw up her entire yogurt and mango smoothie breakfast all over my house helper! Argh! Ick! Monday morning when I looked in her mouth to check on the sores, I discovered yet another source of the trouble--two new teeth! They are molars, near the back--I had no idea she was cutting them! Thankfully she really seems better this week.

2. Christin again--she learned how to dance today. Previously she has only "chair danced" where she bops about while in a seated position. Today she discovered that she could turn in a circle to the music and feel like she was dancing. Turn. Giggle. Turn again. Chuckle. Repeat. Fun!

3. Monday began our English camp for 3rd-5th graders and I've been in charge of food all week. It's been a bit of a bigger task than I realized! First there was the shopping, (not my favorite task anyway and even less so when I have a lot to buy and carry home in a taxi or on bike!), then there's been the organizing and preparing. Everything has gone well so far, thankfully. The kids and teachers have liked the food (I think) and today we had homemade pizza! I got up at 6 am and began making pizza dough, and finished at about noon with 10 large pizzas. And we had already made the sauce, shredded the cheese, and cooked the meat yesterday! It was quite the project.

4. In other food prep news, I set a new personal record for amount of stuff personally carried on my bike after a trip to a grocery store the other day. I had two large bags, one over each shoulder, a HUGE bag partially fitting into my bike basket (that had 3 jars of peanut butter and 4 jars of jam inside--heavy!), and then 30 pound Chloe on the back of my bike! That was a slow ride home!

5. Coming close to that record, yesterday afternoon I carried home in my bike basket a 25 pound watermelon. I kid you not. I don't think I'll do that again.

6. My girls have some CDs of Asian kids' songs that they occasionally listen to. However, we are still at the "getting to know you" stage of the songs, they haven't all gotten memorized yet. That didn't stop Chloe, though. Later today, she was singing (and I quote)"qing ting qing wah-duh-wah-duh wah-duh qing ting ting." Uhhhh-huh.

7. There was a solar eclipse today! And I saw it! In the midst of my pizza marathon I rushed to the window and caught the last bit. How great is our God, who flung the planets into space and arranged the entire universe to operate in such an amazing and orderly way!

8. My birthday was lovely, thanks to all who sent birthday wishes. I made a blueberry coffeecake for brunch, had a nice time talking with my parents on the phone, went for a foot massage by myself in the afternoon (blessed quiet--I read a book and drank a coke zero! Hooray for coke zero!), and we had friends over for a spaghetti dinner. Their son is only 9 days older than Clara Anne and it seems their personalities are very similar. He and the girls had a really fun time playing together! It was great to see! The dinner ended with a (almost literal) bang--I had been given a birthday cake that came with a large candle. The candle had 8 flower petals which were folded in toward the center, each with a small candle on it. When those small candles were lit, they lit a central torch and there was literally a HUGE flame! Then, the candle/flower/inferno started playing "Happy Birthday to you!" It was funny at first until it wouldn't QUIT playing it, finally we had to kill it by finding the battery and taking it out, only after laughing ourselves silly at the thing. Our friends left late, I finished the day with a phone call from a dear friend, a mountain of dishes, and a bit more Sherlock Holmes before I called it a day. What a lovely birthday!

9. It has been incredibly sticky, humid, and stagnant outside. I've never been so thankful for air conditioning. On a related note, our elevator. Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am for the elevator, especially when I arrive home with 25 pound watermelons?

10. Christin can eat a whole package of blueberries by herself in one sitting and ask for more. Ok, there's only 3/4 of a cup in one package, but still!

11. Clara Anne is doing SO well at her kindergarten. Her teachers say that they always use the local language to speak to her, and she understands everything and responds appropriately. Way to go, Clara Anne!

12. I think I'm officially out of news. That probably means it's time for bed. Good night!