There's a wide array of pictures here - fun fair, tea party, hanging out at Wendy's- obviously, I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to put on here. So, here's a bunch.......
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Crazy Weekend
This past weekend was extremely busy for me. My cousins were here from out of state- this happens once a year and produces lots of excitement and fun, but very little sleep. Friday was a full day, even though half of it was spent just hanging out at my parents house. The youngest of the bunch- Morgan- was highly entertaining, pulling magnets off the fridge and walking around like she owned the house. Large quantities of noise came from her sweet little mouth, but we didn't mind. All she had to do was say, "Hey, Mel-Mel," and I would have let her talk all night long.
It was her big sisters, though, who really liked to talk all night. They were thrilled that they could spend the night at my apartment. The whole family went to a fun fair that evening, along with Nils, who had a blast. After Nils was safe at home in his bed, I went home and prepared a tea party for the girls. We had cake and tea and dressed up a little for added excitement. I had 4 little girls, and it was after 10 pm, so the excitement level was way up! There was a lot of laughter as the girls reviewed tea party rules, such as "no slurping" and "drink with your pinky up". I was talking with a very poor British accent, but the girls thought it was hilarious.
The youngest set of twins left after the tea party, but Madison and Macalah stayed. I got the air mattress out and set it up. They insisted that I sleep in between them, which was cozy for them and rather too close for me. I ended up sneaking over to the couch around 6 am.
On Sunday, my parents and brothers and I traveled into south Chicago to go to church with everyone. It was a long day, but fun. Whenever we're all together, I seem to spend most of the time laughing.
The time was fast and crazy, and though I was completely worn out, I had a great time with everybody. I did learn a couple of things. Lesson 1-When you eat with children, ketchup is not your friend. Madison apologized for the ketchup that seemed to keep appearing on my jeans at the buffet on Friday. I was in awe that it could be in so many places. Lesson 2- if you are laughing too much at the table, ice cream can come out of your mouth and end up all over the table. ( This did not happen to me, but I observed it.) Lesson 3- children really are wonderful! I already knew that, but it's nice to have reminders- I felt very loved this weekend!
This past weekend was extremely busy for me. My cousins were here from out of state- this happens once a year and produces lots of excitement and fun, but very little sleep. Friday was a full day, even though half of it was spent just hanging out at my parents house. The youngest of the bunch- Morgan- was highly entertaining, pulling magnets off the fridge and walking around like she owned the house. Large quantities of noise came from her sweet little mouth, but we didn't mind. All she had to do was say, "Hey, Mel-Mel," and I would have let her talk all night long.
It was her big sisters, though, who really liked to talk all night. They were thrilled that they could spend the night at my apartment. The whole family went to a fun fair that evening, along with Nils, who had a blast. After Nils was safe at home in his bed, I went home and prepared a tea party for the girls. We had cake and tea and dressed up a little for added excitement. I had 4 little girls, and it was after 10 pm, so the excitement level was way up! There was a lot of laughter as the girls reviewed tea party rules, such as "no slurping" and "drink with your pinky up". I was talking with a very poor British accent, but the girls thought it was hilarious.
The youngest set of twins left after the tea party, but Madison and Macalah stayed. I got the air mattress out and set it up. They insisted that I sleep in between them, which was cozy for them and rather too close for me. I ended up sneaking over to the couch around 6 am.
On Sunday, my parents and brothers and I traveled into south Chicago to go to church with everyone. It was a long day, but fun. Whenever we're all together, I seem to spend most of the time laughing.
The time was fast and crazy, and though I was completely worn out, I had a great time with everybody. I did learn a couple of things. Lesson 1-When you eat with children, ketchup is not your friend. Madison apologized for the ketchup that seemed to keep appearing on my jeans at the buffet on Friday. I was in awe that it could be in so many places. Lesson 2- if you are laughing too much at the table, ice cream can come out of your mouth and end up all over the table. ( This did not happen to me, but I observed it.) Lesson 3- children really are wonderful! I already knew that, but it's nice to have reminders- I felt very loved this weekend!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Trick or Treat
Spiderman, the Princess- oh, I mean, "Sleeping Beauty"- and the Bumblebee......definitely 3 characters.....were set to go around the neighborhood. Yes, I dressed up, too. The kids were highly impressed with me.
We set out with mommy and daddy, who were also in costume. Each adult was in charge of a child, which was necessary! We walked around to see the neighbors and be admired.....and get candy, of course. It was rather chilly outside so we didn't go far. We came home, warmed up and went through the goods. Nils kept running out of the house whenever other trick or treaters came by. We took turns chasing him. He did get to go out again later, much to his delight, and then grandpa took him for a third round. All in all, it was a fun evening.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
A Different Kind of Day
High school students are fascinating! I spend most of my time with young children, but today I was a substitute teacher at a local high school. It started out great- the light bulb blew out immediately on the overhead projector, which caused some students to think that we were not going to have class. No such luck, dear teenagers- just work on your projects. I was in art class; I don't really know anything about art- my main concern was to make sure that no one left the room with an exacto knife- mission accomplished!
After I announced the assignments for the day I heard-
"I'm bored."
Ah, the back corner of the room- the boy slouching in his chair with his arms crossed. He was the one who had said "Who's that?" when I walked into the room, as if I couldn't hear him. I calmly told him to work on his shading or his sketchbook- of course, he had neither one with him....right. Well.....
"Find something to do."
"O.k. I'll read," and he picked up his Aquafina bottle and proceeded to "read".
I moved to a small math class for 4th hour, where I was promptly named "Miss G." because my name sounded too complicated to pronounce.
After lunch it was back to art class- more shading figures and another back row boy with nothing to do. He was enjoying his Ipod. At my prompting he retrieved his project. He then came and asked me if I knew how to draw- I laughed. I was not very helpful. Then he informed me that I smelled good. "You really do".......and he returned to his seat.
Well, I guess it's always nice to know whether you smell good or not.
Oh, here's a fashion tip from an observer of high school students:
Anything goes. If you want to wear shorts in November, go ahead. If you want to wear a black and white striped shirt with brown plaid pants, be my guest. Maybe a pair of furry pink boots- with a very miny denim skirt, of course. And you can do or not do your hair- it really doesn't matter.
I guess I must have just appeared to be an older person. There is obviously no such thing as "normal".
High school students are fascinating! I spend most of my time with young children, but today I was a substitute teacher at a local high school. It started out great- the light bulb blew out immediately on the overhead projector, which caused some students to think that we were not going to have class. No such luck, dear teenagers- just work on your projects. I was in art class; I don't really know anything about art- my main concern was to make sure that no one left the room with an exacto knife- mission accomplished!
After I announced the assignments for the day I heard-
"I'm bored."
Ah, the back corner of the room- the boy slouching in his chair with his arms crossed. He was the one who had said "Who's that?" when I walked into the room, as if I couldn't hear him. I calmly told him to work on his shading or his sketchbook- of course, he had neither one with him....right. Well.....
"Find something to do."
"O.k. I'll read," and he picked up his Aquafina bottle and proceeded to "read".
I moved to a small math class for 4th hour, where I was promptly named "Miss G." because my name sounded too complicated to pronounce.
After lunch it was back to art class- more shading figures and another back row boy with nothing to do. He was enjoying his Ipod. At my prompting he retrieved his project. He then came and asked me if I knew how to draw- I laughed. I was not very helpful. Then he informed me that I smelled good. "You really do".......and he returned to his seat.
Well, I guess it's always nice to know whether you smell good or not.
Oh, here's a fashion tip from an observer of high school students:
Anything goes. If you want to wear shorts in November, go ahead. If you want to wear a black and white striped shirt with brown plaid pants, be my guest. Maybe a pair of furry pink boots- with a very miny denim skirt, of course. And you can do or not do your hair- it really doesn't matter.
I guess I must have just appeared to be an older person. There is obviously no such thing as "normal".
Sunday, November 05, 2006
I try not to say stupid things in public. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen. I'm sure that many of my friends can think of particular instances when I've really messed up. In fact, at this moment 2 particular instances come to my mind, but I will refrain from writing about them. I will leave those moments to the people who experienced them with me.
But sometimes I hear other people say things and I wonder why they just can't think for a microsecond before speaking-especially when it's a complete stranger they are talking to.
When I'm out in public, I often have a child with me- it's part of my job. I take Nils to the grocery store or the pet store or the mall. We might be running an errand or just taking a field trip. But more than likely, someone is going to stop me and talk to me about whatever child I have with me and automatically assume that the child is mine. It happens all the time.
Sometimes I just go with the flow.
"Oh, what a cute son you have, " directed to me,
OR, "You sure must keep your mommy busy, " directed to the child.
I smile and keep walking. It's not really any of their business if the child is mine or not.
I remember once I was with Annika or Marta somewhere and somebody commented on how much they looked like me, which I thought was really odd because they do NOT even remotely look like me. I am not blond and not Swedish- I think the person had eye trouble or something.
Anyway, the other day Nils and I were at the mall. I took him to get his haircut, which was an experience in itself. Anyone walking by the salon probably wondered about the girl holding the very squirmy child still, as the child was loudly proclaiming, "You have to be still, you have to be still," and trying his hardest to get out of the chair. Just thinking about it makes me laugh- I really love that boy!
After the haircut, he was rewarded with a carousel ride at the Food Court. As he was finishing his ride, the lady said to me,
"Where on earth did you put him? You're so tiny."
I guess a comment like that should be taken as a compliment, but first of all, I was never actually pregnant- at any time- ever! O.k., so she was assuming that he was mine. But was she also assuming that he had just been born? Seriously, I wanted to say, "He didn't come out that way." He is 5 years old.
And who asks questions like that anyway- especially to a complete stranger?
Maybe it's not that weird, but it just seemed really weird to me.
But sometimes I hear other people say things and I wonder why they just can't think for a microsecond before speaking-especially when it's a complete stranger they are talking to.
When I'm out in public, I often have a child with me- it's part of my job. I take Nils to the grocery store or the pet store or the mall. We might be running an errand or just taking a field trip. But more than likely, someone is going to stop me and talk to me about whatever child I have with me and automatically assume that the child is mine. It happens all the time.
Sometimes I just go with the flow.
"Oh, what a cute son you have, " directed to me,
OR, "You sure must keep your mommy busy, " directed to the child.
I smile and keep walking. It's not really any of their business if the child is mine or not.
I remember once I was with Annika or Marta somewhere and somebody commented on how much they looked like me, which I thought was really odd because they do NOT even remotely look like me. I am not blond and not Swedish- I think the person had eye trouble or something.
Anyway, the other day Nils and I were at the mall. I took him to get his haircut, which was an experience in itself. Anyone walking by the salon probably wondered about the girl holding the very squirmy child still, as the child was loudly proclaiming, "You have to be still, you have to be still," and trying his hardest to get out of the chair. Just thinking about it makes me laugh- I really love that boy!
After the haircut, he was rewarded with a carousel ride at the Food Court. As he was finishing his ride, the lady said to me,
"Where on earth did you put him? You're so tiny."
I guess a comment like that should be taken as a compliment, but first of all, I was never actually pregnant- at any time- ever! O.k., so she was assuming that he was mine. But was she also assuming that he had just been born? Seriously, I wanted to say, "He didn't come out that way." He is 5 years old.
And who asks questions like that anyway- especially to a complete stranger?
Maybe it's not that weird, but it just seemed really weird to me.
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