Wordless Wednesday

This means "I miss him"

The kids prefer me. This isn't any kind of secret, because kids are also tactlessly and brutally honest. Sometimes, I have to imagine parenting isn't exactly fun and games for Terry.

However.

He was away this long, long, kids-home-from-school-for-3-days long weekend.  Zoltan has been potty trained decently well since he was 2, and has averaged no more than one accident a month for a good 6 months. He peed his pants Every. Single. One. Of. The. Four. Days. Daddy. Was. Gone.

When you're parenting your kids solo, the hours between bedtime and wakeup are especially precious. And, apparently, especially rare. Each night Terry was gone the kids took a solid hour to settle down and go to sleep ... heck I don't know if they were asleep but they stopped calling for me so I'll take it. They also fell immediately out of their previously and only recently acquired habit of not waking until 8am or later. Oh no, 7am is good enough for them now!

Not getting enough sleep makes people crabby. Especially children who haven't quite learned to articulate their emotions yet. The bickering, squabbles, just plain being mean to each other was about to drive me crazy and one morning the kids were informed that I was taking them outside to play because they were driving me crazy. Not my proudest moments but I managed not to say anything really damaging to them so I call it a win. They sometimes fight going out, but it is an instant mood booster for them and it's a double whammy because it is an instant mood booster for me too, so everyone is happier. Until one kid reaches the front door before the other and then everything is a trauma again.

From the moment Terry walked back in that door, the kids became the sweetest, most loving, most affectionate children one could wish for.  Oh how I dread his next business trip.

Zoltan-isms

Tonight, we were looking at the clock while I held him after he 'had a bad dream' 5 minutes after I put him down. He was reading the numbers out loud to me - he's working hard at reading them correctly as he's inclined to start on the right, not the left. After the number changed and he read it to me, he then said "I think the 3 is going to catch the 2".

When stretching his arms as wide as he can, he doesn't say "I love you this much" but instead "I love you this hugs."

Happy International Women's Day

If I were allowed to put up photos all willy-nilly I'd share what Terry got for me before jetting off to Sweden, but you'll just have to know it's a sweet pot of very happy yellow flowers and I love them.

I'm also realizing that I haven't really said much about this holiday and this is now my 3rd one in Russia. It's essentially Valentine's Day and Mother's Day wrapped together but so much better because it is for every woman. Not just ones with kids or in relationships. Flowers, already a ridiculous racket in Russia, are given by everyone to everyone, seemingly. Restaurants get booked and the cafes have heart shaped treats or stunning cakes in honor of March 8.

At the Consulate, and I can only speak from experience for the one section I used to be part of, the gentlemen in the section put on quite a spread. They fill a table with different dishes, fruit and sweets, all for the women they work with. I hope/imagine this kind of thing goes on all around the country.

So, to all the women I know,

С Международным Днём Женщин

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Ivalo Airport

Ivalo is a very small city - with 4000 people, no university and no full-scale hospital it barely earns its 3-gate airport.

BUT, in that tiny space they find room for a children's play area. And once my kids found it, they quieted down.  That's the other point I want to make about making airports more friendly towards children - it makes the children more "friendly" to adults, by getting them happy and out of the way.

Here's the one photo that Terry allowed me to keep even though it is horribly out of focus. I promised him I would make it very clear in this post that he does not authorize this photo and wishes I would delete it.

The thing in the foreground is a kiddie sized table with two wooden puzzles on it. There were also 2 plastic bins with toys and books.

The family sees the light (Finland cont'd)

Our 3rd night we were on the schedule for the entire family to go to the aurora camp to try to catch a peek at the lights. We hemmed and hawed a bit about whether we should really bring the kids and in the end decided the sky was clear and it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Nobody remembers why Terry opened the door about 30 minutes before we needed to leave for the adventure, but after a moment's glance outside we started bundling everyone up at lightening speed. The aurora was out!!!

We got no photos as the camera was all packed up for the trip, but we got outside with enough time to show the kids and to watch for 5 minutes or so before heading to the meeting point. And no, I don't have faulty math. It takes a while to get all that clothing on.

We thought we did a super job bundling the kids up this time, but Alex did complain a bit about being cold. The nice part of the aurora camp is there is a field house with a fire going and people poke in and out to see what's going on. Terry and I traded off being inside and outside, but as we let the kids bring their LeapPads they couldn't have cared less if we were there or not.

The aurora never showed up as well as it had in the earlier evening.  We got a couple of photos that show it faintly, but the clouds started appearing soon after we got to the camp.  We ended up calling it a night earlier than the planned return time, apparently that's common when the weather just plain sucks.

Here's the one I took. And at least the kids got to see it, although they are not likely to remember it as they really didn't seem to care.

 

Husky dogsled ride

Alex: tights, corduroy pants, regular socks, ski socks, long sleeved T shirt, hoodie, her own Lands End snowpants and jacket, the hotel-provided Finnish brand coverall-type snowsuit. Estonian super warm hat. Scarf double wrapped around her face. Mittens.
 

Zoltan: just about the exact same gear.
 

Lynne: Longjohns, polartec fleece ski pants, jeans, long sleeved T shirt, flannel shirt, thick wool sweater. hoodie. Two pair of ski socks (one thicker than the other). Hotel-provided coverall snowsuit. Hotel-provided lined leather mittens.

We did have to open the door to our little apartment while we were bundling up but, I'll be honest, there were a couple of points when we were having our snack and petting the dogs that we all got cold. Yup, that's what I said. And mind you, we are people who spend an hour at the playground when it is -20C in Piter.

We have precious few photos from the day and nothing of the dogs in action. This is because Terry was busy hanging on and Lynne had two little heads right where she would normally hold a camera. And besides, it was extra super cold while the dogs were running and my hands would freeze right off and then I would probably drop the camera.

But we do have some photos from the day. The kids enjoyed the ride but they liked petting the dogs even more!

  Doggies getting a rest

 

                                                                                         

Awesomeness

Awesomness is the 5 year old helping the 3 year old learn his Russian poem for his school performance next week. She already has it memorized from Tuesday night when our nanny was helping him with it.

The Northern Lights

Here are a few more photos of the Aurora Borealis from our recent trip.  It was a short light show both nights but quite wonderful.  Hope you enjoy.