Sunny, sunny days!

It is such a beautiful spring here in D.C. I'm sorry to gloat, but I love springtime! Everything that goes with it; the rain, the sun and pleasant temperatures! I have missed seasons so much! In Egypt, there's just temperature changes. Seven months out of the year, it's pretty pleasant! The other 5, it's Hot, Melting and Insanely Hot. Any wind or breeze that comes might as well be the devil's breath. Not very refreshing. And, ironically, the leaves fall year round. There is usually some sort of flower blossoming or fruit tree fruiting. But it's all covered with a grimy layer of dirt and sand.

We got up this morning to the rain. The kids opened the door to leave for breakfast and were met with rain.

"Again?" Eliza said.
"Awww, when's it going to stop?" asked Mairyn

This reminded me of a conversation they had our last day in Cairo. It rained for about an hour that day. We came out to gentle misting and when we were done inside, came back out to find it still sprinkling.

Mairyn: "Wow, it's still raining!"
Eliza: "Yeah, that's weird."
Mairyn: "What if it rained, like, all day?"
Eliza: "And then all night and you got up the next day and it still rained?"
Mairyn: "That would be a lot of rain."

Yeah, understatement of the year, Mairyn. Little did they know, that can really happen. They haven't been exposed to much raining in the last 4 years. That's a long time in a little kid's life. So our first 3 days in D.C. it rained. They were amazed. Rain all day, night and all day again. They were getting a little sick of it by the end of day one. Me, on the other hand, I could live with it raining for the next year! Yes, it does get a little cold and such, but I would rather be cold than hot. When you're cold, you can always put on more layers to make yourself warmer. Hot, there's only so much you can take off! There were times in Cairo when I would have welcomed the ability to peel my skin off. (alright, a little gross, yeah, but really, that's how you feel!)

I'm glad we took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend. We went and visited a friend in Maryland who lives by a lake. The kids went fishing and we just enjoyed the sunshine. The day before, I took the kids to a nearby park to let them frolic and play. Wonderful freedom!!

A few of my favorite things

Children playing quietly and the youngest is napping! I found a Legos store at the nearby mall and the perfect set of 650 pieces. Ahh, peace and quiet. Most of the time.

We went over to one of my favorite old haunts, Wegmans. Ah, Wegmans, you were the light of my life . . . aaand, oh where was I? Oh yes, the grocery store that we will all shop at in the celestial kingdom. They have everything. And, they are one of the only stores that has a generic brand that I actually like. When we were in college, I would buy Campbell's even when we were students because I disliked the generic store brand soups so much. Nay no, burrito. Not so with Wegmans. Their Mediterranean bar is overflowing (not really, but I needed a comparison) with hummus, olives, different pickled & marinated things and wonderful, glorious fresh mozzarella. This is the pearl size. Love, love, love it. I will miss not having this out west.

Clear, blue, clean skies! It has rained since we got in Sunday night. Not that I'm complaining, I love the rain. Rain is wonderful; the only thing better than rain is a thunderstorm. Fresh air and the smell of wet earth; do they make that scent for Glade Plug-ins? The clouds finally cleared and the sun came out! This tree is right outside our bedroom window. The kids saw it and started singing, 'Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree'.

Cutting up!

This face is the reason the hair was chopped. If she asks me "why", in years to come, did I cut her hair like this, I will show her this picture. Jacqueline can be a very stubborn child and trying to get her hair fixed and keep it that way has been a big hurdle in our relationship. I would give myself deadlines; ok, if she doesn't let me brush her hair today, I'll cut it tomorrow. Or the last straw which was this week, if she doesn't keep that ponytail in, I'll cut it off tomorrow. Well, we had waffles last night and Jacqueline had a wreath of sticky hair around her face because part of her preparation for dinner included pulling out the cursed ponytail holder and throwing it to the ground. So, this morning, choppy chop chop. I did the same haircut that I did on Mairyn when she needed her hair cut off. Just cut the ponytail off and trim up the uneven parts. Voila! New hairdo! I was really really trying to hold out for Spencer's brother's wedding at the end of May, THEN I'd cut it, but I couldn't take it anymore. This will be better. For both of us. ** P.S. ** When I cut the ponytail off, she saw it and said, "No, Mommy. Put it back on." I said I would and then hid the swatch of hair.

Thumb-thing

Thumbs. That's the topic. I have a weird thumb. My right thumb is shorter than my left. It is wider and very stubby. It kind of looks like a big toe. Except on my hand. My sister, Katelyn, got a matching set. That's the only advantage I've seen to this . . . anomaly.
Disadvantages are as follows:

- Talk about an odd fingerprint. I've had my thumb print questioned before and they had to do it again in front of the person so that they would accept it for the paperwork I was doing. (the things I did to get to be a janitor at an elementary school.)

- I've gotten acrylic nails before and putting the nail on it proved difficult. Yes, she used a toenail tip. Which is one of the many reasons why I will NEVER be getting tips again.

- Bowling is awkward because I need a light weight ball with a thumb hole big enough to accommodate my stump. This is why I like bowling on the Wii.

- Thumbwars. —Stumpy just doesn’t have the reach. 'Nuff said.

So outside of my sister & brother (he has just one, like me) I didn't know that anyone else suffered from this "deformity". Then I came to Cairo and I met Nancy. She's lucky; she's got a matching set! So that was quite the icebreaker for us. And before I left Cairo, we had to get a commemorative documentation of fellow toe thumbers meeting!

**My sister has since done some research for me and found out quite a bit. This actually has a name and everything, brachydactyly type D, or clubbed thumb, or stub thumb. Apparently, it is quite a distinguished trait; it used to be a sign of descent from European royal bloodlines. According to the science - the thumbs trait might be ideal because it shows up relatively often in the few families who have it. Boo-yah! Take that Mike Hanksleiben, he who teased me mercilessly about it from grades 2 to 5!!**

Goodbye to Cairo

Our dear friends of the Cairo Branch gave a going away party for those that are leaving this spring. I just couldn't believe that it was our time. We have a traditional goodbye gift that I wasn't so sure that I wanted. There is a scroll with three little vials tied to it containing sand, air and water. Each represents something to take with you from Cairo and the scroll explains each element. I've heard it read so many times, but now that they were reading it to me, I didn't want to be pushed out of the nest, for good. It was a great way to end our last day in Egypt. We had a great dinner and lots of visiting. And of course, pictures.

Tired!

Who said traveling the world was exciting and glamorous? It's just plain tiring! The upper left picture of Grant and Jacqueline on Daddy's lap, that's in the van on the way TO the airport! And, Grant slept the whole flight from Paris to D.C. Jacqueline was his complete opposite and didn't! They figured we all need some balance in the world. Yin-Yang, whatever.

Cooped up

We have a nice place to stay while in our transient mode. The Residence Inn has a nice 2 bedroom loft, kitchen, two bathrooms and 3 T.V.s. ( we don't even own that many!) It has been raining since we got here. I am going crazy. First, I'm not crazy about the loft. The bed is right up against the wall, with the wall extending about another 2 feet above the head of the bed. So, Spencer & I took that "room. The kids are in the real room with doors and all. Which is good for naps and such. And I try to barricade the stairs so that the children don't throw themselves from the loft to a certain maiming or death. *shudder*

I am watching Grant and Jacqueline chase each other around the coffee table, cycling between manic glee and cutthroat sibling rivalry.

"She took my book!"
"No I didn't!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"No!"
"Yes!"

They are all handling the jet lag pretty well. 6 hours isn't that big of a hump to get over. They slept well the first night, getting up about 4 am. The last two night the stirring began about 5am, with all up by 6 am. Good thing breakfast starts at 6:30am!! Grant and Jacqueline are having the hardest time, clashing at every turn. They are enjoying the minivan we have rented. Fighting over who gets to sit in back. What is it about the back? Is it just ingrained in their DNA that the "cool kids" sit in back? They take turns, knowing that if they argue or fight for a place, that they will be denied a turn in the coveted back row.

We have been hunting down our old favorite haunts in Northern VA. The Dulles Town Center hasn't changed much and Eliza & Mairyn actually remembered some things. The carousel and airport style play place. It was a sad day though when I had to deny Eliza access to playing there. The height ruler saying what the tallest height allowed inside hit her at the shoulder. There was a Claire's Boutique beside the play place and I let her browse and wander through the girly stuff. *gulp* I have a girl old enough to care about the earrings and hair things more than rough housing on the playground.

Anyway, we are plowing through and adjusting. We'll find a rhythm in a few days and then, it will be time to go somewhere else! Whoop-de-freakin'-do.