Sunday Quotations

This week's quotation is one that you won't find in any book or magazine. It was related to us firsthand by Professor Norbert Duckwitz. When we were at BYU, Spencer worked in the Middle Eastern Studies office, doing odd jobs, editing, answering phones, etc. Professor Duckwitz was a hoot. He is German born and told us many funny stories, one of which was about when he was on his mission. He served in Germany and President Benson was the Area Authority at the time. When President and Sister Benson would visit, they stayed at the mission home. Professor Duckwitz was working in the office at this time. When he was serving, missionaries were still allowed to go out in the evenings and see movies. Well, one evening, Elder Duckwitz and his companion were leaving to catch a flick. Sister Benson hears them leaving and pokes her head out the window and sees them in the street. He said that she called after them and said,

"Boys, where are you going?"

Elders: "Well, we're going to see a movie, Sister Benson."
(they were a little nervous because they thought she was going to call them back to do something for her.")

But she said, "Boys, oh boys, can I come too?"

Just the way that Professor Duckwitz related it, it was so sweet. If you need a new book to read, pick up Ezra Taft Benson's biography. Wonderful insights and inspiring stories. So, it has merged into our own life as an expression. Someone is leaving to do something alone and you call out after them, "Boys, oh boys, Can I come too?"

Forays In Faux-tatoes

We went beyond our usual boundaries this Thanksgiving. Since Sara and I were both husband-less, we didn't go all out but we also tried gearing the meal in a more healthy direction. Sara made these amazing savory sweet potatoes. Cut into chunks, seasoned with herbs and garlic (garlic, mmmm, that's what i remember) they were the best sweet potatoes to ever cross my lips. And I really don't like sweet potatoes. The other alternative food on our menu was Fauxtatoes. (mashed cauliflower, but it sounds yucky, so I use the faux-ternative. ha!) And of course they had garlic in them as well. No, there isn't some special agenda with the health advantages of garlic in a diet, we just really like garlic!! I cooked up the cauliflower, mashed it up and then put it in the blender. **Side note** I was noticing some straggling stems hanging onto the side of the blender and, since the mixture wasn't spraying, I took the lid off. Everything going fine, I use the push stick to integrate the stuff on the sides. I guess my stick went down a little too far and caught the blade at the bottom a little. So the mixture just blew up right in my face. All over my front, face, hair and the cabinets. See, this is why I don't cook in the shirt I'm going to wear for dinner. Anyway, back on the subject, the fauxtatoes were a hit. I also made some regular mashed potatoes just in case the cauliflower didn't work out. We served both and fooled the kids.

"So, how did you like the mashed potatoes?"

Kids: "They were goooood!"

"They weren't all mashed potatoes."

Kids: "WHAT?? Then what was it?"

"Cauliflower."

Kids: "No way. Yuck. Ew. Blech."

"No, really, and you just ate your plate clean."

We revealed at the end of the meal which kids ate which and really, nobody was the wiser. I think these may become a staple in our house! So the rest of the menu was pretty basic but oh so good and traditional. Turkey, stuffing, corn, gravy, relish trays, fauxtatoes, roasted sweet potatoes and also, Sara's wonderful yeast rolls. Apparently she had to use a different recipe, but really, anything baked that comes out of her kitchen is just perfect. (and now on to other martha stewart impersonations.) Oh, and desserts. Well, Sara saved the day there, too. We both bought a box of these Pumpkin Gems. They are mini pumpkin pies made in big cupcake cups with crust and everything. I was up late chopping vegetables and such and decided to do the Gems (ooh, it's truly outrageous) after Thanksgiving dinner. Sara made her's the night before, so then everyone would have the choice of cooled or warm pumpkin pie. So, while ReRe is doing dishes (yay for maids) I'm in the kitchen starting on the pumpkin gems. Well, apparently I put in too much butter. Really, could that ever be possible? But the crust was like a blob of goo. It was not forming and so we decided to just bake them and see what happens. It would be just crust on the bottom and filling on top. Sooo, it comes out of the oven 12 minutes later and yuck, they are gross. I totally messed them up! Fortunately we had the other 6 Sara made. She also made this apple crisp that has more crisp than apple (the way it should be).

And we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It has gotten crappier each year. I don't know why I keep watching, probably for the nostalgia. It was great when I was a kid, but really, in the last 15 years, it has gone downhill. I have one thing I look forward to seeing in the parade every year, and that's the Rockettes. I think they are so cool and I think Sara would make a great one, too! Well, I forgot about the parade and turned it on about an hour and a half late. So we missed the Rockettes. Although then, we saw the greatest parade moment in history this Thanksgiving. There was this float about the cartoon Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. This is actually quite a funny show. There was the big house and all the characters from the show. They stopped at their place at the Macy's storefront and then started singing this inane, weird song. Gag me! Then, as we are losing interest, this other music starts up and Rick Astley walks out of the front door! The float was rickrolled!!! Sara and I were literally gasping for air, laughing so hard. And all of our kids did not get why their mom's were laughing like lunatics! They were disappointed that the Imaginary Friends quit singing! It was the highlight of the day! That and the savory sweet potatoes (is that an oxymoron?) and the fauxtatoes. and the rolls. and the apple crisp. Ok, now I'm done. And the turkey. Alright, really I'm done.

Four Foods on Friday 57

#1. What’s your favorite carbonated beverage?

Diet Coke, duh. Next question.

#2. What’s your favorite spicy food?

Kung Pao shrimp at P.F. Changs. I'm not really a very spicy food person. I like my salsa medium. I can take some heat, but I don't revel in it. My husband, however, will relish a hot beef curry dish spiced up the yin-yang, beads of persperation gathering on his nose and upper lip. So it's a rare dish that is actually named in association with something fiery hot that I really like. And maybe it's the fact that it's not too "kung pao" to begin with, in my opinion.

#3. How do you handle hot dishes? Oven mitt, pot holder, towel?

A combination of all three. If I don't need much dexterity in extricating the dish, I'll use an oven mitt. Pot holder is for pots. And I'll use a towel if I'm too lazy to hunt for the other two.

#4. Ice cream. How do you like yours?

Well, this can be handled many ways. Are we talking soft serve or scoop? Cone or cup? Homemade versus storebought versus parlor? What kind of flavor? Toppings? A perfect sundae for me would be two scoops of Edy's Vanilla Bean with caramel, candied pecans (for the crunchies) and some homemade whipped cream. I'm a sucker for caramel! Now, if we're talking flavors, it's gotta be Rocky Road. Hands down. Breyer's has a good version. The almonds are toasted and dipped in chocolate. I am drooling all over myself here, I haven't had good ice cream for quite long time. Although that's of my own design. I'm on this here thing called a Diet. (It's working! 23lbs in 3 months. Thanks Sara!) And preferred mode of transportation for the ice cream to my mouth? Waffle cone. And soft serve or scoop? Depends on the place. FroYo, as I like to call it (frozen yogurt, hey, it's sweet and frozen) is the best at Mill Hollow in Rexburg, ID. Their flavors change every day. And not crappy ones. They have wonderful tart blueberry, lemon, blackberry, strawberry, apricot, cherry, I could go on and on. So in that department, FroYo for soft serve and ice cream in scoop form. Yay!

My Very Own Collage

Thanks to Lulu and Nancy, I can now make my very own collages and really kick it up a notch in the photo displaying department. For my first blog Vision Board, I chose the theme of things that make me happy. Starting out, it was really tough. What makes me happy? Do I go material or conceptual? I just threw it all out the window and put whatever! As you can see, I was all over the place. And that cupcake isn't cupcake sized, it's cake sized! I want the mold for it! See, it's things I like, things I like to use (or want to use) or look at. All of this makes me happy! Now in retrospect, what with today being Thanksgiving and all, I should have made one of things I was thankful for. I'll work on that for this weekend. I made this yesterday, but just couldn't make myself post twice in one day!

Word Wednesday

Narcoleptic nar'co·lep'tic (-lěp'tĭk) adj. narcolepsy n. pl. nar·co·lep·sies
A disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable, though often brief, attacks of deep sleep, sometimes accompanied by paralysis and hallucinations.


I don't know why I picked this word. I just like saying it. Narcoleptic. Narcoleptic. And maybe because I wish I could sleep. I haven't been sleeping well since Spencer left. Don't know why, just laying in bed until 2am. Believe me, I've tried a lot of remedies. I don't need any advice, I'm just frustrated and weary of it. Anyway, I've got to go chop vegetables and make pumpkin pie!! Enjoy your word. Narcoleptic. Narcoleptic.

Hugging my Mommy!

When I pick Grant up from preschool, I don't have any of the other kids with me. It's kind of our own "alone time". And he gets to pick a song to listen to on the way home (it's a 5 minute drive). I rolled the windows down one day because it was getting cooler and we didn't really need the AC on. Well, the wind created much more ambient noise and he couldn't hear his song, so I turned it up. Fast forward a couple days.

"Mommy, can you make my hair move?"

"What Grant?"

"Roll down the windows and make my hair move, please."

Ohhhh! We had been doing the same ritual: pick song, roll down window, turn up music and sing along. That was how he asked me to get it started! Sometimes he picks "We are the Dinosaurs" by Laurie Berkner. Or "Victor Vito" by the same lady. On the day that I'm writing about, he picks Amarillo. Grant loves the song, "Is this the way to Amarillo?" By Tony Christie. Yes, yes I know I posted about this song last month. But there were a few hiccups with the link, etc. Hey, I'm still new at this blogging thing. Anyway, we get home, get out of the car and we're both still singing the song. He's right on top of the words with me. I start the chorus, "Is this the way to . ." and he sings, "Amarillo!" I sing, "Every night I've been hugging my . . " and he blurts out, "Mommy!" (it's supposed to be 'pillow'.) Oh geez, Grant, just go ahead and melt my heart! "Every night I've been hugging my Mommy." My sweet little boy. He loves his Mama!** You can bet he won't be singing that in 10 years when he's 14. Click on the hotlink for each song to hear it and watch the video. The YouTube video is a bunch of British squadies in Iraq lip-syncing to Amarillo. It doesn't get much better than that! This is a picture of Grant near his preschool. We had just parked the car and he jumped out and yelled, "A door! A door!" And I could not figure out what he meant. I said, "Where?" And so he showed me. Ah, a door in the tree. I asked him who could use that door. He said that mice use it to climb the tree because they can't fly like birds. Hmmm. I'll keep an eye out for mice in the tree.




**name the movie, get flair, etc.

Digging for Gold

Last night I got a text message from Eliza's horseback riding teacher that she was organizing an afternoon lesson for today (Tuesday) after school. Clubs ended last week, but Eliza is friends with the teacher's daughter and she wanted to go riding with Eliza and another friend. Sure! Anytime! Eliza loves riding and is really good at it. She's been taking regular lessons during the school year for the last 2 years. So, the text said that she would pick up Eliza at school, take them to the lesson and bring her home. Great! And the lesson is only 90 le ($16.28). No prob, bob. I go to my purse and I find 65 le. Not great. I'm home alone with a house full of sleeping kids and it's 10:30 pm. Oooo-kay, let's begin the scavenging. I find 4 one pound coins at the bottom of my purse. Tally: 69le. I dig through a side table in the living room. A crumpled one pound note, hey, every thing counts. I moved through the apartment, room by room, drawer by drawer and couch cushion after couch cushion. I found my camera bag and it had 12 50 pistre (half a pound) notes! That's 6 pounds! What's the total now? I gathered my assortment of change and crumpled, stinky bills (the money here really does stink after it's been in circulation for a while) and began counting. 20, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 71, 72. That's it? Oh wonderful, this is just great.

Then I remembered that Eliza is a little packrat. She will save everything. She also has this plastic piggy bank and squirrels away any currency she finds. Usually she asks; like one time she came to me with 50le ($9) and asked me if she could have these 50 pistres (9 cents). Oh, um, honey, that's fifty pounds. Riiight. She's also saved all of her tooth fairy money and never spent any of it. What have I come to? I am borrowing from my daughter! Well, it IS for her lesson. I went to her red, plastic piggy and unscrewed the plug. I dump it upside down and out fall, 1,5, and 10le notes. Plus a menagerie of American, Egyptian, Greek, German and Jordanian coins. So that's what's knocking around inside of you little bank! I ended up borrowing 18le. I'll pay her back. Maybe. No, I'd better do it otherwise I'll be in even more of a pickle then next time I need money! ;-)

It is NOT Christmas today!

It all started about a year ago when we played a Wii together as a family. We (ha-ha) love it!! Our good friends, the Catognis, have one and we play it when we get together. I have never been a big fan of video games, never had one growing up and really didn't feel the lack thereof. But, this is not like any other "video system". It is the only thing I've seen that can actively involve every person in the family, from the little toddler (she likes the cheering) to the adults. (really, how many parents just LOVE playing Candyland overandoverandover again) So, this last August, the 'rents (me and spence) decided that we would get a Wii for Christmas. We figured out how much we would regularly be spending on each kid & ourselves and just rolled it into one nice package.

That said, I'm still getting them some individual little things. I'm a sucker for books. Love them, devour them and can't live without them. I will always buy a kid a book. There was a Book Fair at CAC this past week. I didn't go. (we were sick) But on Saturday they were selling what was left, so I went. I was trying to cull information from each child as far as a subject they were recently interested in, etc. I told them we were going to the Book Fair at CAC, but that they had to stay at the playground while I picked out some surprises for them for Christmas! (I don't think it's too early to mention Christmas!) So they stayed far away, I put the purchases in a non-see through bag and we headed home.

Their curiosity was obviously piqued. "What did you get, Mommy?" "Oh, I can't tell you, then it wouldn't be a surprise." Needless to say, Eliza and Mairyn can handle the suspense. Grant cannot. (and Jacqueline really doesn't know what we're talking about!) We get home and Grant says, "Yay! Merry Christmas! Can I have my book now, Mommy?" "Oh, it's not Christmas yet, buddy." "But you said you have presents for Christmas. Can I have it?" How to explain to a 4 year old that it is still a month away? See, we went through this when we hinted that maybe Santa would bring a Wii, or something else. And the girls would pine EVERY DAY that, "I wish it was Christmas. Then we could find out what Santa brought us." I finally said that if they talked about it every day, it would only be harder to wait. They quit. But now, for about a week and a half, Grant has been popping up every where, "Yay! It's Christmas today!" "Nope, not really, buddy." "Why?" "Just because." It would probably go away in about another week, but this Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. What happens on that day, Lydia? you ask. Well, that is the day the Christmas decorations go up in our house. (and sometimes it starts Thanksgiving evening) So there will be a daily reminder to our little man that Christmas is coming. Drat! I don't think I can put any wrapped presents under the tree!

Sunday Quotations

I chose this poem by Sister Hinckley for this week. I have it tacked to my cork board in the office area by the phone where I can see it every day. She was such a kind, sweet woman and quite an example to me. If you get the chance, read "Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley", written by her daughter Virginia H. Pearce. A great companion book to President Hinckley's biography "Go Forward with Faith".

"I Really Lived"
by Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley
I don't want to drive up to the pearly
gates in a shiny sports car, wearing
beautifully tailored clothes, my hair
expertly coiffed, and with long,
perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station
wagon that has mud on the wheels
from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains
on my shoes from mowing
Sister Schenk's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of
peanut butter on my shirt from making
sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.

I want to be there with a little dirt
under my fingernails from helping to weed
someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's
sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears
of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.

Four Foods on Friday

I am trying out this Food meme this week. I'll see if I can keep it up. This one looks difficult, at least the first two questions. Because I really like a variety of foods and the second question, well, I'll have a hard time whittling down the finalists. There are so many incidents! Here we go:

#1 What's the worst tasting food you've ever eaten?
Dolma. It's called different things throughout the Middle East, and I still haven't had one I liked. It's a rice, meat or vegetable mixture rolled up in grape leaves. I don't like the texture of the leaves, all veiny and slimy, just, no. But I'll still give it a try if I'm in a new region. The worst I ever had was in this little hole-in-the-wall place in Luxor. They had amazing lamb stew and koshary, but whoa, the dolma tasted like little burned cigarettes. Ugh.

#2 Share a funny or embarrassing story about a meal you've made.
Ok, Thanksgiving dinner 2006. (not my first one, by far, mind you) I made a killer turkey. It was golden, crispy in the right places and browned to perfection. I placed it tenderly on my special used-once-a-year turkey platter. I carried that bird out to the table and settled it in it's place of honor in the middle of a table set for 12. When I started carving it, I noticed something poking out of the cavity, just a bit. I didn't stuff this bird, so I was a bit confused. Oh. No. I had missed the packaged turkey neck. The packaging was all burned and gross. I excused myself and the bird (no one had had any turkey yet) to the kitchen. I said that the juices were slopping around in the platter and were going to make a mess if I didn't drain it. I removed the offending packages and will always check the neck.

#3 What food do you burn or have problems cooking most often?
Eggs, omlettes. They are always brown and spongy and I can never make that perfect little semi-circle that omlettes are supposed to look like.

#4 Name two foods you will be eating on this Thanksgiving.
TURKEY and homemade stuffing!

Word of the Day Wednesday

Shukran
arabic: شكراًَ
is an arabic expression meaning thanks or "thank you". Shukran Gazeelan means thank you very much. Alfa shukr means "a thousand thanks".

This is basic Arabic vocabulary. It is probably the first word many new residents to Egypt learn. Also, it's a surefire way to win the heart of an Egyptian. You say Shukran and they go, "Ah, you speak Arabic very well!" Yep, you can go far with just this one magic word. And expound upon it with shukran gazeelan, they will be blown away. And if that isn't enough, you say Alfa shukr and you'll be scraping them off the floor like putty. Mwa-ha-ha! The companion to thank you, "You're welcome" is Afwan. The other day, Grant and I were coming home from preschool. I had a couple bags with me and Grant had his lunch box and water bottle. Mahmoud (our boab) came and helped us with our parcels. When we got to the elevator, I prompted Grant with a What-do-you-say? and Grant said, "Shukran ya Mahmoud". Mahmoud smiled, waved and shut the elevator door for us. Grant looked up at me and, "But Mommy, he didn't say Afwan!" Does my boy know his manners or what?

Sunday Quotations

I just had to dedicate this week's quotations post to President Hinckley. I think I speak for most when I say that my heart aches and the tears come unbidden when I think about my beloved prophet. I like to call him, "My Prophet" because he was prophet when I was a teenager and really discovering my own testimony for myself and he was the first prophet, for me, that I felt I could connect with. I knew in my heart that he really loved me and cared for me. I can remember the time, place and day of when I heard this first quote. I don't even have to look it up. It is from the Sunday afternoon session of the October 1997 General Conference. It was my freshman year at BYU and a group of my friends and I had taken a radio and some blankets to the Provo Temple grounds to listen to this last session of conference.

"I have a confession to make, my brothers and sisters. It is simply this: I love you. I love the people of this Church. I love all who are faithful. I love all who follow the ways of the Lord. It is a humbling thing to preside over the Church. I can never forget the words of Jesus: he that would be first among you, let him be the servant of all. "

When Spencer and I were engaged, the stake president of our stake liked to interview each engaged couple before they were married. Our stake president was Truman G. Madsen. Yeah. I was understandably intimidated. Well, it was a very relaxed and comfortable conversation and he mentioned this quote during the evening. It has always stuck with me as a yardstick of sorts.

“Under the plan of heaven, the husband and the wife walk side by side as companions, neither one ahead of the other, but a daughter of God and a son of God walking side by side. Let your families be families of love and peace and happiness. Gather your children around you and have your family home evenings, teach your children the ways of the Lord, read to them from the scriptures, and let them come to know the great truths of the eternal gospel as set forth in these words of the Almighty.” (fireside, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 12 Nov. 1996)

And how could I not mention this favorite.

"Let us all try to stand a little taller, rise a little higher, be a little better. Make the extra effort. You will be happier. You will know new satisfactions. A new gladness in your heart." (book, Stand a Little Taller)

Gordon B. Hinckley

These are a few of my favorite things . . .

It's ok to sing along. We won't laugh. Really. I was waiting for the perfect picture to complete this post. And I got it. I just have to precede it with a few of my other favs.

I just love this guy. He was part a 5 piece Egyptian band that was roving the grounds at CAC, playing and stopping at random intervals. There were two trumpets, a tuba, a drum and a guy with cymbals. But this guy, he is my favorite. It's like he's saying, "I'm serious about trumpeting, but I still know how to relax."

I found this rug at a bazaar last week. It still had the $40 Bed, Bath and Beyond tag attached. (I paid $17, btw) And it SO matches the rest of my kitchen.

I found these gems at the yearly Egyptian Week Celebration at Cairo American College, the American school in Maadi. I LOVE these! The colors didn't come out as clear as in real life, and the middle stripe is really a faded blue but looks green in this picture for some reason, but the blues and yellow match my FiestaWare perfectly. I have a mix of 3 colors: Cobalt, Sunflower and Tangerine (or blue, yellow and orange, but my colors sound better.) If they had had one with an orange stripe, that whole exhibit would have ended up in my kitchen!!

The moment has arrived. These are my most favorite of all. I have snagged the perfect picture. I just hope the same for Sara. The only thing that would make it better is was if she was in a galabeyya with headscarf. She just couldn't handle the world. Meltdown city! I'm just grateful that I was quick enough with my camera.




P.S. I also have another fav pic of Jacqui and Sam running around naked (they are potty training). Both have a full moon turned to the camera, but then if I posted that, it might be bordering on child pornography, soooooo.

Word of the Day Wednesday

Peripatetic -
noun - a person who walks or travels about. adj. - walking or traveling about; itinerant.

I like this word. For one, it describes our family very well. We are a peripatetic people. Also, very alliterative and fun to say. Peripatetic, peripatetic, say that 5 times fast!! It was in the running for the title of our blog. The Peripatetic Penrods, but it also sounds like the Pathetic Penrods and I just couldn't do that. You can see our address is penrodpostings. blah, blah, blah. I was wracking my brain, trying to come up with a catchy name for my blog. It probably comes from my dad. Growing up, my dad was in the Air Force. We moved around a bit, not as much as other military people, though. Since we were far from family, my dad started up a monthly newsletter. And this was in the days before blogs, email and the fancy-schmancy Interweb. He created quite a wonderful monthly publication. There was weather, current events, the Kid Korner with a spotlight on one kid a month, the whole thing was chock full of family updates. And then he would print it off and we would stuff and address numerous envelopes. Oh, and apply the licked stamp. (back when we licked stamps. funny story, i licked a stamp the other day and the wonderful old Sudanese guy in the mail room showed me how to peel off the backing and apply the already sticky stamp.) Well, that memorable annal was titled, "The Holloway Herald". And the title usually changed to fit the area were we were living. It was the Heartland Holloway Herald when we lived in Nebraska. Anyway, I had to settle with Life, Kids, and Pyramids for now, but I have been thinking about what it will change to when we leave Egypt. France would be really convenient for us, Penrods in Paris. Or Spain, the Peninsular Penrods. Then Jordan, Penrods for Petra or, well, that's it I'm out of locations and ideas. But enjoy and I may think about making this a weekly thing, Wordy Wednesday. (see, the alliterative thing again.)

WHAT??!!

Since when did my childhood toys become vintage??



And I have that chime ball in my kids toy chest right now!!

Go here to see more "vintage" toys.


http://www.aliviastoys.com/fisherpricevintagetoys/fisherpricevintagetoys.html

Bang, Bang, Bang On the Wall, Baby!

So, all day we have been subject to our downstairs neighbor's (our landlord) construction noise. These walls are cement. I had no idea how well sound carries through cement walls. It sounds like they are banging on the other side of the wall and not downstairs. Bang, Bang, Bang. Oh wait, you didn't want an audio description of what the soundtrack of my day sounded like? Well, too bad, you can listen here below. It started up at about 10 am, when all respectable working Egyptians begin work. (actually, that's pretty early for them seeing as how most shops, etc, don't open until 11 or 12) I got back from the gym and it was reverberating throughout the house. The epicenter of it all was in my bathroom. So, I started the shower and got in. Then, I felt the banging right under my feet. It felt like he was going to break right through my tub!! With me standing in it!! I could live with that, but then it started affecting the water. Bang, bang, bang, hot, cold, hot, cold **(yes, no, in, out, up, down)** I could not live with that, so I began some banging of my own with the shaving cream can on the bottom of the tub. And yelling incoherent rants to the imbeciles below. Hey, they can't understand me! They stopped for a few minutes, then began again. I have no idea whether my banging had any effect on their "work". I had other errands to run and so was out from noon to 2. When I got back, it was still going. I had taken Jacqui with me and it was time for her nap. Oh, I had hoped that they would be done by now. But no. I put her down for her nap and BLESS HER LITTLE HEART she's still sleeping 2 hours later. ^^big smile^^ I am marching down there to protest if this continues past 5pm. Anyone got a big fat Advil?

**If you know what I'm referring to, I will send you the best flair that Facebook has to offer!**

Sunday Quotations

I'm looking for a weekly theme. I've come up with a few ideas, but I'm going to try this out. Maybe 'Sunday Sayings'? Sabbath Sayings? I don't know. I do know that I won't always be in Egypt where the Sabbath is observed on a Friday. Anyway, this quote is one that I hold near and dear to my heart.

"Take your children when they yet lisp and have them kneel down by your knee or by their cribs or beds in the evening when they go to bed. Lead them in their prayers until they get big enough and know enough that they can pray by themselves.... I don't know a thing in my life that I owe more to, for not being worse than I am, than the practice my mother trained me to when I was a child. To this day, my conscience won't let me go to bed at night or leave my room in the morning without saying my prayers on my knees, if I am where I can get on my knees. If I am where I can't get on my knees, I say them as I lie in my bed. If your children will always do this, they will not go far astray." --Marion G. Romney, 52nd Annual Primary Conference, April 3, 1958

Day 1: Spencer is gone.

Ok, I won't label all the posts like that while Spencer is gone, but this is the beginning of it. Jacqueline has already managed to make 2 messes and he's only been gone half an hour. She really hates her diapers which means it's time to potty train. Won't wear them or have anything to do with them. (of course, b/c i just bought a truckload of diapers this week) So she strips off her diaper first thing in the morning as usual. She got to the potty this morning, no problem. 10 minutes after Spencer leaves, she perches herself atop the folded jogging stroller and unleashes a gallon of pee on the fabric seat. Great. While I clean that up, she decorates herself with another Sharpie marker that she seems to have found. We have confiscated all markers in the house, but they still show up. I swear she has a secret hidey-hole full of sharpie markers and bananas.

We got him off this morning without a hitch. The driver was a half hour late, but hey, ma'alish. See, there is this awful regulation that if you are taking an international flight (leaving Egypt) you have to be at the airport 3 hours in advance. The travel company makes sure this is clear and won't let a driver arrive any later than 4 hours in advance of when you have to be at the airport. They scheduled the driver to arrive at 9:30am. (one hour for traffic, although I just talked to Spencer and he got there in 30 minutes. But in Egypt, you never know) His flight doesn't leave until stinkin' 1:30pm! So of course the car doesn't arrive until 10am. And then he's worried that Spencer won't make his flight, oh sir, you have to hurry, we told you that check-in for international flights is 3 hours in advance, never you mind that I arrived 30 minutes late. I had envisioned a last breakfast together at Maadi House, the kids playing, etc our usual Saturday morning routine and then him catching the car to the airport, ma'asalama! .

Let's rewind to the last time we were at the airport for an international departure. The travel agency gets us there right on time, 3 hours in advance. We go up to the desk to check in for our flight to Frankfurt.

"Yes, we need to check-in for the 5:30am (it is 2:30am) flight to Frankfurt."

"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am, you cannot check-in for that flight for another hour."

"But it's listed above the desk here as being open for check-in."

"Sorry ma'am, not for one hour or so."

"But our travel agency said that for international flights, we have to check in 3 hours in advance."

"Sorry, ma'am, check-in is in one hour."

This happens every time. The airport and the travel agencies need to have a pow-wow and decide on a policy. But wait, that would be applying logic and for all you who have forgotten, don't try and do that in Egypt. Although, when we were leaving the States a year or so ago, we got to the airport exactly 2 hours before the flight took off. The lady at the desk said that we would have to gate check our baggage because we are going on an international flight and baggage needs to be checked 2 hours before take-off. Never mind that this was a little banana plane with 30 passengers going from Idaho Falls to Denver THEN we would go Denver to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Cairo. (long day, but that's another story) So, there is some policy out there that requires something of international fliers. Whenever you find out what it is, let us know!

My Mairyn

I think it's time for Mairyn to get some attention in the spotlight. She is one great girl. She brings such life and spirit to our family. Mairyn is quite a special name. I knew I was having a girl before we found out on the ultrasound. I was having a hard time picking names. Spencer was studiously searching for boys names. I was looking for both boy and girl and I stumbled upon Maren. I remembered having heard the name before in high school. So I looked up the meaning of the name. I found so many different spellings, but only one meaning that wasn't a derivative of something else. Mairin is Irish Gaelic and means 'wished for child'. I told Spencer that this was this baby's name. Spencer wanted to change the last "i" to a "y" and there you have it. Mairyn, our wished for child!

Grant's Halloween

Grant's school was the only one that did a class Halloween Party. They let them dress up for the day. This video is Grant showing me how fast Dash can run. (if you can't tell, he's Dash from The Incredibles) I regret that I didn't catch the beginning of the demonstration. When he says he's going to run like Dash, he does this little wind up thing with his feet like running in place, then he can take off!